


I wish I could

by juliebee



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Jumin's Route Spoilers, Kidnapping, PTSD, Seven's Route Spoilers, Shock, barely any plot, follows jumin's route, i dont believe in chapters, i've never posted anything here before how do i tag??, just spoilers in general i guess, lots of fluff, pls enjoy, seven is amazing and loves mc unconditionally, some angst?? idk how to write it though, some stuff at the end but no smut because im a child of god, unedited because im lazy, yoosung is annoying but thats because i think he's annoying in the game, zen is there too and hes cool
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-08
Updated: 2018-06-08
Packaged: 2019-05-19 15:50:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 46,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14876747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/juliebee/pseuds/juliebee
Summary: After Jumin Han proposes to MC at the RFA party, everything was supposed to go right.Two months after, everything was, in fact, going right for MC and the rest of the RFA.That is until one fateful night, when MC discovers something no fiancée should ever see.From there, she turns to her best friend 707. He lends her a shoulder to cry on and a place to stay. As much as it hurts him to see her broken, her proximity to him makes his heart soar-- for he's loved her as long as she's been in the RFA.For as long as she was Jumin's.An awkward too-long-to-be-a-oneshot but too-short-to-be-full-fiction story that I rushed and didn't edit, but wanted to share anyways. It explores the relationship 707 and MC share after Jumin's horrible decisions, extending all the way to her life as "Jumin Han's Ex-Fiancée." Will it get her in trouble? Will she prevail and go on to live her life? More importantly... will a red-haired hacker be by her side?I don't know how to write summaries!! Told in Seven's perspective, with plenty of spoilers for the game.





	I wish I could

**Author's Note:**

> this is the first fanfiction i've posted since i was in 6th grade writing pokemon stuff.... please be kind to me

Seven watched as MC was locked in Jumin's apartment. 

Seven watched as MC obviously felt uncomfortable. He hacked the cameras, he watched her for a few hours a day. She was bored. She was scared. 

She loved Jumin, nevertheless. 

Seven watched as, once everything had been solved, Jumin proposed to her. 11 days after meeting, he proposed to her. Seven clapped along with everyone. 

She looked beautiful that day. She looked absolutely shocked-- any girl would be if her boyfriend of only a few days proposed to her. But Jumin was no ordinary boyfriend. 

Seven understood. Jumin had never had a real relationship with a woman before, and his perception of love was a bit skewed. His entire world had changed to revolve around her in mere days, and he felt that marriage was the only thing he could do. In his eyes, he loved MC and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. Seven could only wonder if MC felt the same.

Afterall, MC had done so much for Jumin. She had opened up his emotions and helped him to actually feel things, and had cured his loneliness. One would assume that such a rich man would not have such pitiful problems. But clearly, he did. 

Seven watched as MC said yes to Jumin's proposal.

The party erupted in cheers, and it was on the news for weeks. C&R Director Proposes to Secret Love at Charity Party, CEO-in-line to International Company Engaged, and, Seven's favorite, Hot, Rich man proposes to Commoner! The mere dismissal of MC as a commoner made Seven, and Jumin, a bit angry. The website hadn't been heard from since. 

Seven watched as the wedding was set for three months after the engagement. MC's wedding dress was fitted by some French designer who flew in the very next day. The venue was set for a beautiful island a few hours off the coast. It was all very overwhelming, yet MC seemed overjoyed. 

Seven supposed any girl would feel the same. She married one of the richest men in the world, who loved her unconditionally. Their wedding was set to be international news, costing millions and millions. Jumin wanted everything to be perfect.

And, for two months and two weeks, it was. 

MC and Seven continued to talk in the chat, and, every once and a while, they would talk on the phone. She would call him and confess her fears, her worries, her doubts in marrying Jumin so quickly. What if there's someone else out there? She asked him one night. What if I'm rushing things? 

There might be, Seven had responded, hoping she couldn't hear the sadness in his voice.

From the first day he saw her, he liked MC. He still remembered the shock he saw when he saw her adorable face-- and from then on, her warm nature, her acceptance, and her hard work captivated him. Because of her, the RFA party was fantastic, more than it had been before. And she had thrown it together in 10 days. 

Seven was enamored with her.

But she was Jumin's. 

And... if the events of the first 10 days were any sort of indication, Jumin was a bit protective of things he considered his. 

And so, Seven watched. He hacked. He lived his life. He talked to MC and listened, confided in her things he shouldn't. He told himself every night he couldn't have her. But every night, he dreamed of amber eyes, of soft brown hair.

Two months and two weeks after Jumin proposed, Seven felt he had finally come to terms with watching from the sidelines. MC was happy. They had just called, Jumin was out on a business trip and MC planned to surprise him. He had been gone for a week, longer than he had ever been before.

She sounded so excited. She, Seven, and Zen had planned the idea together-- MC would fly in on the company jet to the city (which was only two hours away by plane) and go to his hotel room, bringing with her Jumin's favorite wine. There, they would have a lovely night and fly home together the next morning.

Seven really didn't want to think about what she meant by a 'lovely night.'

She had logged off the messenger an hour ago, for her flight was starting and she wanted to sleep. MC hated flying. That was one of the things she had confided in him before, that she wished she could drive everywhere. She liked to ride in a car so much more than in a big, loud plane, especially when she was one of the only ones in it. 

I could drive you anywhere, Seven had said. Maybe not over an ocean, but I'd love to take you in one of my cars. MC had just laughed and thanked him. So far, she hadn't taken him up on the offer. 

She would be arriving in an hour, at 8 pm local time. Jumin's schedule-- as Seven had learned by hacking into his private email server-- would have him finish dinner with clients at about 8:30, meaning MC would have plenty of time to sneak into the hotel room. 

She sounded so happy. It had been all her idea. 

Jumin's just been gone for so long, she said. Even before this trip, he stayed on his other one a day extra. I've hardly seen him. 

Seven couldn't help but wonder why, for their wedding was only a few short weeks away. It wasn't as if he was planning it himself-- he had entrusted it to one of the top planners in the world, of course-- but, business man or not, he should at least be spending time with his bride-to-be. 

But it wasn't his business. He was sure it was just Jumin being Jumin.

He must be so stressed, MC said. The few days he was back here, he kept checking his phone and taking random phonecalls. We hardly got to spend any time together. 

The only thing Jumin loved more than MC was wine, and so she had hatched the plan-- it was supposed to go perfectly. It was all supposed to be perfect. MC wanted it to be perfect, and Seven wanted MC to be happy, so Seven wanted it to be perfect, too. 

He had assumed it had because two hours later, he hadn't heard a word from MC. 

For a few moments, Seven considered calling. He had been watching the plane's movements, and it had landed safely. Her phone was off, so he couldn't track it, but he was sure it was in the hotel room. If he called, he could interrupt... whatever MC and Jumin were doing. And that was something he really did not want to do. 

Instead, he called Zen, the only other person who knew about the scheme.

"Hey," the actor said, picking up on the first ring. "Hhows my f-favorite hacker dooooing?" 

"Hey hey," Seven said. Zen sounded as if he had had one too many beers. "I'm doing great."

"Meeee tooooo," Zen slurred. "I waas just having some beer, and suddennlyy, it was all gone!" 

Seven couldn't help but wonder how much Zen had, or why he was drinking in the first place. He was a heavyweight drinker-- it took a lot for him to get drunk. 

"Have you heard anything from Jumin or MC?" Seven asked. "I know she doesn't like using her phone on planes, but she should have landed..." Despite Seven's protests, she absolutely refused to use her phone on a plane, even on airplane mode. She had read somewhere that it disrupted the signal, and that was enough for her-- at one point, she said she had convinced Jumin not to use his, either. But Seven knew when she was asleep, he did anyways. 

"Noooo," Zen said. "I'm worried... MC iss kind of directionally-" he hiccuped, "chaaaallenged."

"But she'd be with a driver," Seven said, shaking his head. "Zen... I'm hanging up now. Go to bed and put some pills and water on your nightstand."

"I'm not," another hiccup, "drunk!" The very drunk Zen protested.

Seven hung up. 

He had some work to do, anyways. He wasn't worried for MC, just wondering how it was going. Did she get into the hotel okay? She was worried about that. 

If all else goes wrong, I'll just google 'Jumin Han girlfriend' and show the receptionist, she had joked to Seven. 

Soon, another hour had passed and her phone was still turned off, as was Jumin's. It was almost 11. Perhaps they had gone to bed. 

But Seven didn't sleep. He returned to his work, hacking into a country's database and retrieving some fun citizenship records. Easy stuff. 

On one of his five monitors, he still kept open the CCTV for Rika's apartment. It was habit-- he had no reason to close it, for his hardware could handle it and it was still his duty to protect the information stored there. It had remained lifeless for weeks now, for MC lived in Jumin's penthouse. She had gone there once to collect her few things, under Seven's careful watch. 

And so, you could imagine Seven's surprise when, at 3 AM on a friday, a small, brown-haired figure walked up the apartment steps. 

The movement caught his eye as he typed lines and lines of code, and he turned his head a micro-fraction to view it, assuming it was a LOLOL notification-- Yoosung bothering him to play, the developers asking him why he had suddenly reached number one despite never playing a game. LOLOL was always on his fourth monitor, so he turned his head to the left. It was same-old.

He returned back to his code but was interrupted by the sound of someone crying. Alarmed, he looked around his apartment-- empty. It was then he saw the CCTV feed.

MC was crying, punching in numbers to the keypad. It was rejecting her, but she still punched it in, over and over. Finally, dejected, she sat down on the steps, putting her head in her hands and sobbing more. 

Seven didn't have time to think about what she was doing there, where her phone was, or what was going on. In seconds, the keys to his fastest car were in his hands and he was out the door on his way to the apartment.

He drove 50 above the speed limit, not even caring. The roads were empty anyways. It was 3 AM. No sane person would be out at this hour. 

When he reached the apartment, it was raining. Pouring, actually, with thumber rumbles in the distance that suggested a storm was coming. He had been watching the CCTV feed on his phone, and MC hadn't moved-- instead, she let herself be soaked. 

He parked in the street, not even turning the engine off and almost forgetting to un-buckle the seat belt as he burst out of the car. "MC!" He yelled as he turned the corner to the apartment's entrance. "MC, what are you doing?" 

She looked up at him, her face looking pale and scared. Her frail body was soaked, the purple gown he knew was Jumin's favorite sticking to her frame. Her hair fell in one dark sheet, her bangs sticking to her face. Her amber eyes were wide and shining with tears. 

"MC," he asked again, "what on earth are you doing?"

She didn't answer, just stared at him. He didn't have time for this.

"MC, it's Seven," he pleaded. "Agent Seven Zero Seven, defender of justice. Please tell me what you're doing here!"

Thunder struck just then, and MC jumped, slightly regaining her senses. "S-seven?" She stuttered out. "What are you d-d-doing here?"

"There's no time to explain," he said. "You have to get out of this rain. Come on. You can come with me."

"B-but-" she started, but Seven shook his head.

"I changed the apartment passcode a month ago. The security system would recognize you as a stranger. I didn't think you'd ever come back unless someone was using you..." he said, "and there's no time to fix it. Please, you have to come with me."

"O-okay," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. She tried to stand, but her legs gave out from under her. A small yell escaped her blue lips as she fell, landing easily in Seven's arms. 

MC was shaking, terribly. He shook his head at how stupid she was, carrying her into his car and sitting her down in the passenger seat. Normally, he would be upset that such a wet figure was ruining his car, but now was hardly the time for that. 

With her sitting shivering in the front seat, he crept around to the trunk, pulling out the emergency kit he kept for his missions. He rifled through it, stopping when he found the thick blanket he knew would have a use someday. He smoothed it out and brought it back to her, wrapping it around her shoulders and buckling her in. She had stopped crying, but her breaths were still shaky, her lips still blue. 

He climbed into the driver's seat, blasting the heat as much as he could. Slowly, so as not to disturb her, he took off back in the direction of the bunker.

She didn't say a word, just stared straight ahead. 

Seven didn't ask questions.

After half an hour of silence, she started to cough. And then she was sneezing and sniffling, but no longer crying. It seemed as though she had caught a cold.

As anyone who sat outside in the middle of a storm would.

And then, finally, she fell asleep. Seven turned the heat off, worried it would make her uncomfortable in case she had a fever. She was still sopping wet, but no longer looking like she had been sitting in a freezer. Her lips had gone back to their usual pink. 

When they reached the bunker, the rain had stopped. Seven drove quickly, but not recklessly, and they had arrived in good time. 

So as not to wake her, he unbuckled her and lifted her from the seat, carrying her into his home. The security system let him in with ease.

He carried her to his bed, cleaned and made with precision by Vanderwood. Seven hadn't slept here in a week or so-- his nights were usually spent at his desk, and he rarely slept. Ever so often he would fall asleep at his keyboard or just crash on his couch. 

He almost placed her down before he realized she was still in the evening gown, which was very much still soaking wet and cold. 

For a few moments he panicked. She obviously couldn't sleep in it in her condition, but what was he going to do? Change her himself? He considered calling Jaehee, but that would be of no use-- she lived half an hour away, and, like any normal person, would be asleep. 

Next, he considered waking her up, but then realized she must need the sleep. To wake her up and ask her to change clothes would only worsen her tired condition.

And so, looking away as much as he could, he set her down on the bed and peeled the evening gown off her frame. His cheeks burned the whole time, and he dreaded telling her about it when she woke up. 

Much to his expectation, she had on white, lacy underwear and a matching bra-- a set he was sure Jumin had bought for her to use on occasions like the one she had planned for that night. 

It was also completely soaked, and it needed to be off her, too. But Seven just couldn't bring himself to do it. 

In a stroke of genius, however, he tugged his biggest, warmest t-shirt over her head and then-- where he couldn't see anything-- unclasped the bra and pulled it off then. Once more beet red, however, made sure the t-shirt covered her and then pulled off the panties, sliding a pair of sweatpants on her instead and keeping his head turned completely the opposite way until he was absolutely sure she was decent. 

The whole time, she hardly stirred. Seven checked her pulse, just in case. 

When she was dressed in his clothes, he tucked her in. Her hair would just have to dry itself, Seven wasn't about to pull out a hair-dryer or anything. 

There, she looked almost normal. Her face was still pale and tear-streaked, her figure still trembling. But, even then, she was beautiful.

But why? Why was she in his bed? Why was she outside her apartment?

Seven had a call to make.

He left the room quietly, making sure the surveillance cam for the bedroom was on and going back to his desk. 

In seconds, he had dialed the number to the CEO-in-line. 

"Jumin," Seven said the moment he picked up. "Do you mind explaining why your fiancée showed up at Rika's old apartment, crying, trying to let herself in?"

"So you found her," was all Jumin responded, letting out a huge breath. "Thank god."

"What happened?" Seven demanded. "If I hadn't been there, she could have died, Jumin. It was pouring rain and cold out and she was just... sitting there! She was in so much shock. What did you do?"

"It is none of your concern. I will send a car in the morning to pick her up and send her back to my penthouse-" Jumin started, calmly, but Seven cut him off.

"No. She's asleep, sick, and scared straight here and I'm not letting you or anyone else take her until I get some answers," Seven said. "If you don't tell me now, she will. It's your choice."

"I repeat, it is none of your business," Jumin said harshly. "MC saw something she wasn't supposed to see and over-reacted."

"What did you do?" Seven asked. "What could cause her to act that way? How did she get back here?"

"She took the company jet home, and then from there, I don't know. The driver wasn't there to meet her at the airport, so perhaps she took a taxi? You said she went to Rika's apartment?" Jumin asked, still sounding calm and evading the first question. Seven grit his teeth. MC-- his fiancée, for god's sake-- could have died just hours ago and here he was sounding like it was a mere TV show plot. 

"I'm giving you one last chance," he said. "You tell me what happened or MC will."

"I know information retrieval is your career, but there are some things that even you do not deserve to know," Jumin said. "I trust you will leave what is between me and my wife between me and my wife."

"She isn't your wife," Seven said, hanging up the phone.

Seven would call Zen, but, after looking in the chatroom, he had told Jaehee he was going to sleep-- he was too drunk to stay awake much longer. Jaehee had responded she, too, was also going to bed, ruling out her knowing anything about what had happened.

That left Yoosung and V. Yoosung was almost certainly up playing LOLOL, but what use would he be?

"V?" Seven asked a few moments later, surprised he had picked up.

"Seven? Why are you calling at this hour?" V yawned. "I was just about to head to sleep."

"V, listen, have you talked to Jumin at all tonight?" Seven asked quickly. "It's urgent."

"I just got off the phone with him," V responded. "Something happened on his trip, so he is coming home in the morning. He called to arrange a lunch with me tomorrow."

"A lunch?" Seven demanded, hardly believing his ears. "V... do you know what happened?"

"No, he was vague, as usual," V said. "Seven... I need some sleep. Good night."

"No, V, wait, it's about MC...!" Seven protested, but V had already ended the call.

Damnit.

He had no other way of reaching Zen and Jaehee, so he did the usual protocol when something big happened-- he logged onto the messenger.

707 has entered the chatroom.

707: Jumin Han, since I know you'll read this eventually,

707: and everyone else, 

707: MC just showed up outside Rika's apartment, sobbing

707: She was supposed to be with Jumin now out of town

707: But something happened, and now she's in a lot of shock, and Jumin won't tell me what

707: Everyone else is asleep

707: But please... keep her in your thoughts

707: She's not doing so hot and I fear for what'll happen when she wakes up

707: I'll be sure to send updates......

707: Jumin, Jaehee, anyone else who knows something---

707: Feel free to fill me in. 

707: And Zen, for when you see this,

707: Yes, she is at my apartment, alone, 

707: and yes, I am behaving myself..... no need to worry here.

707: She is engaged, after all.

707 has left the chatroom.

He dropped his cutesy jokester facade just for the sake of the messages so that everyone would take him seriously. 

He hoped it would work. 

\---

Seven must have dozed off on his keyboard again, for he woke up with a crick in his neck and a soreness in his back that wasn't there before. 

He glanced at the clock-- 8 AM-- and then glanced to what had woken him up.

The alarm he had coded just before going to sleep was set to go off whenever MC woke up. "Alert, Alert!" It said in a cheery voice, blaring out of his headphones, still around his neck. "Alert, Alert!"

He scrambled to his feet, making his way to his room. He gave it a minute, so as not to appear creepy, then cracked the door open.

MC was sitting up in bed, blanket wrapped around her, looking utterly confused and scared.

She jumped when she saw him.

"No! No, don't be scared, it's just me, Seven," he said gently. "I'm not going to hurt you, I haven't hurt you. You're in my bed, in my home. Do you remember any of last night?"

"No," she said meekly, looking down at her clothes. "These aren't my clothes... Seven, we didn't....?"

"NO!" He said, a little too loudly. "No... listen, MC, I know it's early, but he might show up any minute. Do you have any recollection of what happened yesterday?"

MC paused, thinking. Suddenly, her gaze clouded over and she gave a tiny nod. 

"Could you tell me, please? Here, I'll tell you what I know to get you started-- you fill in the gaps." He cleared his throat, coming and sitting down at the foot of the bed, far away from her so that he didn't scare her. 

"First, you were flying out to meet Jumin at his hotel. He was away on a business trip, and you wanted to surprise him. You texted me when you boarded the plane, and then I didn't hear from you at all. Flash forward to 3 AM, I see you on the CCTV feed of Rika's apartment trying to get in. You couldn't-- I reset the password a month ago-- so you sat down on the steps and started crying. It was raining, and you didn't look too good, so I drove over there and picked you up and brought you here. Does any of that sound familiar?" He asked, looking to her. Her hair stuck up in all sorts of odd angles, her face pale and gaunt. Even so, sitting there, his t-shirt on her... she looked like an angel.

She nodded, tears coming to her eyes. 

"I know it might be hard, but I really need to know. Did something happen when you got there?"

She continued to stare at the blankets, eyes clouded over with tears.

"MC? Did Jumin or someone hurt you? What made you come home?" Seven prompted gently.

She started to snivel then, like she was trying hard not to cry. "This is embarassing," she commented. "I'm not used to others seeing me crying."

"MC, please, how did the plan go with Jumin? What is making you so upset? I know it must be hard, but I really, really need to know if something happened to you," Seven said. "Protecting the RFA members is what I do, even if I have to protect them from other members."

"I was so excited," she whispered finally. "I got to the hotel in no time. I had the wine. It was supposed to be perfect."

"But...?"

"I let myself into his room," she continued. "I waited there, on the bed. For a few minutes." Her voice cracked, coming out raw and hoarse.

"And...?" Seven asked. Whatever was coming next, he knew it was really making her sad. The tears kept coming, and coming, falling against the blankets. 

"And... the door opened. And I just sat there, waiting... and then I heard it." She took a shaky breath. "He was... with someone. 'This way,' he said. There was the sound of heels on marble-- the floor was marble, it was a nice suite-- and then the sound like someone was thrown against a door." 

Seven realized where this was going.

"And then there was... you know... kissing noises. Moaning. The door opened, and there he was, tangled up against it with some girl I've never seen before They threw on the lights and didn't even notice me," her voice had diminished to barely even a squeak, the tears still coming. "Her dress was half off her and his shirt was unbuttoned. They had clearly been up to it already."

"How did they notice you?" Seven asked, so angry he could barely even make out the words. 

"I couldn't even say anything. I just sat there, the bottle of wine in my hands. And soon, they stopped, and he turned to the bed... We made eye contact... and I just left." She gripped the blankets, now covered in tears. "I threw the bottle of wine in the trash bin and just... left. He called after me. 'MC!' He yelled. 'Wait! It's not what it looks like!' You know, what people always say when it's exactly. What. It. Looks. Like." The words came out strained.

"And... how did you get to Rika's apartment?" Seven prompted, trying to remain calm so as not to frighten her.

"I called up the company pilot. He hadn't taken off yet, so I asked him to take me home. He didn't ask questions, just waited for me, and then we left. I cried the whole way there. We got to the airport, and I just left again. I found a taxi. I didn't know where to go," she said, her knuckles turning white from how hard she was gripping the covers, "I couldn't go back to his place, he would find me there. I couldn't go back to my old apartment... he bought it out a month ago, converting it into a sort of closet for me. I only thought of that place, since I might know the password..."

"Why didn't you call me or something? Or V? Or Zen? Or... anyone?" He asked, slowly reaching out and untangling her fingers from where they were gripping the blankets with white knuckles, holding her hands when he was done and stroking her palms with his thumbs to try and calm her down. 

"I was just so in shock. Even looking at my phone, the fancy, stupid phone he bought me a month before it was released to the public... I just couldn't. I was stupid." She finally turned to him. "Seven... I don't remember what happened after. I don't know how I got here or how I'm in your clothes, or what I was thinking, but..."

"No, no," he said. "I couldn't just watch. I saw you on the CCTV and had to do something. It was rainy... you were going to get sick."

They were silent for a few moments. She climbed out of the blankets and came and sat by him, legs touching. Without even thinking, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug.

"What am I supposed to do now?" She whispered, head buried against his chest. She didn't hug him back, instead clutching the material of his jacket and burrowing closer against him. "I have nowhere to go. No money of my own. Do I call off the engagement? Tell the media?"

"Don't worry about all that," he said, resting his head on hers. "You can stay here for as long as you'd like, and we can worry about Jumin later. I'll deal with him."

"I mean, he was cheating, right?" She finally said. "Should I have let him talk to me? Could I be over-reacting?"

"No," Seven said, quicker and angrier than he should have. It all suddenly just bubbled into him, erupting like one big anger-volcano and spilling over. "MC, listen to me. You're beautiful, and kind, and innocent, and pure and amazing and every other good thing in the world. Jumin is... Jumin. He doesn't know anything about love. He loved you, but he also had never loved anyone else like you before. He was inexperienced and brash... and he tends to try and always get what he wants. We may not know the full story there, but we can know that he was cheating, and he was trying to keep it a secret from you. He might love you, still, but his heart may not be as devoted as you think it is."

He squeezed her closer to him. "You deserve someone who will love you unconditionally, who would never cheat on you. The fact that his mind so much as THOUGHT about it just makes me... so... mad! I can't believe him, MC. I really can't. I can't believe him." 

She just buried her head in his chest. "I can't go back to him," she said. "I can't. I just keep thinking of that woman... she was so pretty. A model, probably. That's what business he said he was meeting with, a modeling agency." She sniffed. "I guess I wasn't good enough for him. I'm not a model. I don't look like that girl. She was just so provocative, I guess-- her dress was so revealing! And her face and hair, both fake! Is that his type? Does he wish I looked like her?" She hiccuped into him, and he rubbed tiny circles into her back, stroking her hair with his other hand. 

"You're beautiful, MC, and if he can't see that, he's blind," he said. It was true MC was no model, but she was still stunning in her own way. She wasn't... sexy, per se, like the woman MC was describing, but her eyes shone with knowledge and warmth and her face was just heavenly. She was an angel, there was no other way to describe it. She had a charm all her own, one Seven had never seen in anyone else.

Suddenly, an alarm blared, and MC pulled away from Seven in a hurry. "Intruder detected," a robotic woman's voice announced. "Intruder at the main gate."

"I guess he's here," Seven grumbled. "MC... come with me, okay?"

"O-okay," she said, taking his hand as he lead her out of the bedroom and into his office, sitting her down on his office chair. He typed a few commands in, and then pulled up the image from the security cameras outside. 

Jumin Han stood there on Seven's front porch, figuratively-- Seven didn't believe in porches-- dressed in a business suit and looking impatient. "Seven, I speak many languages, but Arabic is not one of them," he said directly to the camera. "If you would please let me in, I believe you have my fiancée."

Seven fumbled around on his desk, finally finding the mic that connected to the speakers outside. "Go away, Jumin," he said. "She told me what happened."

Jumin's face on the monitor looked shocked for a second, but he soon composed himself once more, straightening his tie. "Is she with you, then? I would like to explain myself--"

"Go ahead, then," Seven said. "Do tell me what happened. I'll relay the message."

Jumin rolled his eyes. "What MC witnessed was merely business. That woman was the top model of the agency, and I felt I was not doing a good enough job to convince them to partner with us... I read once that sleeping with someone would get them to like you. She seemed interested, so I went with it." He shrugged. "Nothing more. If I could please have my future-wife back, now-"

"Jumin." Seven said. "Do you honestly expect me to believe that the Jumin Han, the man who never loved before meeting MC, who proposed to her 10 days after meeting and only 6 after starting to date, who had never felt love or loved before that, sleeps around for business? I know you, Jumin, and so does she. You would only kiss and sleep with someone if you love them." He spat out the words like they were poison, and Jumin looked scared.

MC smiled at Seven, the sadness in her eyes telling him that everything he was saying was true.

"Seven, I do not expect you to understand," Jumin said. "I needed to secure this deal. MC would have never found out, and that woman would never leak a word."

"Jumin, I kindly ask that you leave this property before I see you out myself," Seven said. "The more you speak, the more you make it worse."

"Very well," Jumin said, still calm, and much to Seven's surprise. "I will leave. I will come collect MC for dinner tonight... please tell her that I plan to make it up to her."

And with that, he turned out of view of the camera, the sound of an obviously expensive car pulling out of the streets following it moments after.

"By that, he probably will just buy me a ton of new clothes I'll never wear and expect it to be enough," she said, sniffling. "And cooking my favorite meal, and then no doubt would get me drunk. He does that every time we would fight."

"How often did you fight?" Seven asked, looking at her. She still sat on his office chair, knees drawn up against her chest and her head resting atop them. She looked like a child-- small, scared, innocent. 

"A bit. It was mainly over stupid things... for a long time, he wouldn't let me leave the building without him. We fought about that, about the wedding... he wanted it to be big and public, I wanted it small. He won that one." She shook her head. "He would always win. He always gets what he wants."

"He clearly wants you to forgive him," Seven said. "Will you?"

MC turned to look at Seven, eyes swimming with emotion. "I don't know," she said. "I don't believe him for a second. But... I still love him. If I didn't, I wouldn't have said yes, and I wouldn't have stayed with him."

"I see," Seven said. "Let's just not think of it for now, yeah? We can have a great time. I have some work to do, but I can forget about it for the day. Are you alright? Hungry? Need a shower? A change of clothes?"

She smiled. "Yes to all of them."

"Alright-y. How about... you go shower, I find some more fitting clothes for you, and then we have a nice breakfast?" He looked at her up and down. "About the clothes... your evening gown was soaking wet. If you would have slept in it, you would have gotten more sick... I just dressed you in my warmest ones but don't worry! I didn't look, and I was really careful--"

She placed a hand over his as he blushed the color of his hair. "I trust you, Seven. Thank you for looking out for me."

"Oh... no problem." He placed his other hand over hers, pulling her to her feet. "Here. The big bathroom is this way."

\---

"MC?" He called to her half an hour later. She was still in the shower, the clothes Seven had lent her folded neatly outside the door. 

"Almost done!" She replied through the door. Sure enough, the water shut off a few moments later. 

She cracked open the door, one towel wrapped around her hair and the other around her body. Seven looked away, holding out the only clothes he could find that she might like. "It won't be Prada, but it should be fine," he mumbled. 

She took the things out of his hand. He had found his smallest t-shirt and a pair of flannel PJ pants with an elastic band, as well as thrown in her undergarments from the night before (which he had dried). 

She emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, looking drowned in the clothes (which, despite his efforts, were still far too big) but comfortable. The elastic to the PJ pants was folded over numerous times to make sure she wasn't tripping on the bottom of them-- Seven was a good half a foot taller than her. 

"Everything alright?" Seven asked. She smiled. 

"It's perfect. I prefer this to Chanel gowns and Burberry coats any day," she said. 

"I speak 18 languages, but I don't know what you just said," Seven said. She giggled.

"That's perfectly fine. Are you hungry? I can make something for breakfast, I don't know how much you cook..." She took the towel off her hair, letting it fall around her in wet sheets. 

"Oh, you're my guest, I won't make you cook," Seven said, the thought coming to his mind that he really had no idea how to cook. He waved his hands in the direction of the kitchen. "But... I have some work to do, and honestly, if I made something, I'm not sure how much you'd like it..."

MC placed a hand on his shoulder. "I can figure something out. You go finish your work." 

She took off down the hallway. Seven cleared his throat. "Uh, MC?"

"Yeah?" She asked, turning to look at him.

"The kitchen is that way." He pointed to a doorway in the opposite direction from where she was walking.

"Ah.. my mistake," she said, smiling awkwardly and then turning, disasppearing into the kitchen Seven hadn't used in months. He knew Vanderwood would keep it clean, but as far as the contents went... he had no clue what she would find.

A few moments later, Seven was seated in his custom, thousand dollar office chair staring blankly at his screen. He had finished hacking the citizenship records last night, but now he had an entire list of things to do.

An entire list of easy things to do, that was. He could do it later.

Suddenly, his phone was blasting the ringtone he had set specially for Zen. 

"Hey, man," Seven said, grateful for the distraction. 

"SevenisMCwithyouissheokay?" Zen asked, words coming out rapid-fire. "Ijustwokeup andIsaw themessenger-"

"MC is with me, she's fine," Seven said. "How's your hangover?"

"My hangover? It's fine, but that's not important now! What happened to her? Why was she outside in the rain like that?" He asked, still speaking quickly (but nowhere near as rapidly as before). 

"MC appreciates the concern, I'm sure, but I don't think it's my business to tell you," Seven said. 

"Man, come on! You know I don't trust that Jumin Jerk with her, did he do something?" Zen asked. "Come on, man, you have to tell me."

"I'll have her call you, or have her explain in the messenger. That is, if she wants to tell you." Seven cleared his throat. "Has Jumin said anything? Or Jaehee?"

"Nah, the messenger has been dead except for Yoosung complaining about 8 AM classes," Zen said. "Has Jumin said anything to you?"

"He came over earlier to try and take her home, but she and I refused," Seven said. "He said he'd come back for dinner, but right now I don't intend to let him inside."

"So you know what happened then?" Zen gasped. "It must be really bad!"

"I... yeah. MC is making breakfast now, but I'm sure when she hears how concerned you are she'll tell you. I'd say myself, but it's very... private." Seven reclined in his chair, propping his bare feet up on his desk. "Maybe you can come over later for dinner. Can you cook?"

"No, but I can pick up take-out like nobody's business," Zen responded. "I'd love to. Let me just check my schedule and have MC talk to me, kay? I gotta go work out. There's no cure for a hangover headache like some weights and a rowing machine..."

"Bye, Zenny!" Seven said, hanging up the call before he was lectured about working out. 

Not even seconds after, his phone was ringing again, this time with Jaehee's face on the caller ID.

"Luciel," she said shortly as soon as he picked up. "Do you care to tell me what on earth is happening with my boss and his fiancée?"

"What did he tell you happened?" Seven asked, sounding just as frustrated.

"He told me something happened between the two at his trip last night. He seems so stressed out... I understand she's with you, now, for he made the driver take him there and canceled a morning meeting." Jaehee sighed. "If they are fighting, could you please just hand her back over? I don't know what happened, and I don't care to get in the middle of a lover's quarrel. But it is interfering with my work, and I don't like it when that happens."

"Jaehee," Seven said, exasperated. "It's not a lover's quarrel. Jumin hurt MC and fails to recognize it, so for now, she's with me. Do you care for her?"

"Do I... excuse me?" Jaehee sputtered. "Do I care for her? Of course. She is not just my boss' fiancée, she's a friend, a fellow member of the RFA..."

"Perfect! Could you do her and I a big favor then and send over some of her clothes, toiletries, etcetera?" Seven asked. "I want her to be as comfortable as possible here."

"I'll send something over," Jaehee said, sounding tired. "Or at least arrange for something. I can't come over myself, a thousand media moguls are contacting me, and I must figure out why."

Media moguls? Seven thought, furrowing his brow. "Okay, just have whoever drops it off buzz in and I'll grab it. No need to come inside."

"Very well. Good bye, Luciel," Jaehee said, ending the call.

\---

As MC and Seven enjoyed omelets in front of his TV half an hour later, Seven realized all too quickly why the media was contacting Jaehee. 

Engaged C&R Director's Cheating Scandal! Boasted the news headline as a few anchors chatted about it, looking nonchalant. Seven quickly scrambled for the remote to change it, to get their casual faces off the giant screen he had in his living room, but MC placed a hand over his, stopping it. 

"This omelette is really good, MC!" Seven said, hoping to distract her, but she silenced him with a wave of the hand, eyes glued to the screen.

"According to the receptionist at Hotel Rosé, where C&R Director Jumin Han was staying on a trip, Korea's favorite power couple is off to a rocky morning," a woman with hair so blonde it was almost white said. "Reportedly, a woman claiming herself to be Mr. Han's fiancée showed up at the hotel last evening on a surprise visit."

"That's sweet," a nice looking man said, but the blonde woman shook her head. 

"Sweet until, moments later, Mr. Han checked into his room... with French Model Juliet Malcouer at his side!" Blondie said. The other anchors gasped. 

"Mr. Han's office is declining for comment at this time, however," a different blonde anchor woman said, "we happen to have Madame Juliet with us now. Miss Malcouer, what is your take on the situation?" 

An image of the model showed up on the screen. She fit the description MC had provided to the T-- she was gorgeous, one of the most beautiful women Seven had ever seen. Her hair was a dark blonde and fell around her in long, angelic curls. She smiled at the camera, showing off two rows of pearly white teeth that were in no way real. 

"Does her dress need to be so low cut?" MC mumbled beside him, looking stone-faced. Seven nodded in agreement-- she was in a white dress that had a neckline dropping halfway to her waist, revealing more than any national news network should allow. 

"Thank you all for having me explain my story," Juliet said, still smiling. "I would love to explain my take on the events of ze last night." 

"I never liked the French," Seven said. "Went there on a mission once and all they did was make fun of my accent."

"Do you think he has a thing for accents?" MC asked, obviously not listening to him. Seven eyed her, concerned.

"He approached me a month ago," Juliet started. "We met at a business meeting, to discuss ze relationship between our companies. I knew he was engaged, but wow! What a man... rich, tall, handsome, smart. I caught him eyeing me from ze first moment we met."

The anchors all gasped. Seven reactively reached out and took MC's hand in his, and she gripped it tightly. 

"He invited me to dinner to discuss something zat day, and he told me about how he was getting married. But zen, he said that he had never had any other girlfriend, or any other romantic relationship than with her..." The French model laughed. "Don't get me wrong... I have seen ze girl! She is lovely, but she is no Juliet Malcouer."

"MC, I'm turning this off," Seven said, reaching with his other hand for the remote. She turned to look at him and shook her head. 

"I'm not going to get answers from him. I want to hear what she has to say." 

"I told him I could show him what casual love was like... rock his world, you know. Rich company director, handsome. What else was I supposed to do?" The anchors kept looking at themselves nervously, like they were debating if what she was saying was appropriate. "He rented out a hotel suite for us, and from there, it became a habit... he prolonged ze business deal so he could keep going out of town and meeting me. His fiancée was never supposed to know."

"Surely you were aware he was going to get married...?" The anchors asked. "What were you gaining in all this?"

"What was I gaining in sleeping with the future head of one of the world's biggest companies?" Juliet scoffed. "Maybe this will answer you."

She held up her hand to the camera, showing off a ring with a massive rock and an expensive watch. One of the anchors put a hand to her ear, looking like someone was speaking to her through an earpiece. 

"You know how easy it would be for me to intercept this signal, right?" Seven asked MC. "I could make it stop. That Juliet girl is just soaking up the limelight, her few seconds of fame-"

"Shh," MC said. 

"Last night, he told me it would be ze last time. Zat his fiancée would be getting suspicious, ze poor girl. We planned to close ze business deal that night, officially, and zen go to his hotel with wine to celebrate... I couldn't help myself, though, and the moment we got to his room I was on him, and he was on me. We stumbled our way to ze bedroom... and there she was, sitting like a little doll. It was so cute, honestly, I felt my heart melt a little bit."

Juliet mocked wiping a tear away. "His favorite color was purple, and she was sitting in a cute little purple dress, with his favorite wine, just... watching. It was like she'd seen a ghost. La pauvre bébé!"

"That means poor baby," Seven said. MC didn't respond.

The model continued to ramble on, seeming like she had forgotten she was on TV. "And zen she ran! She dropped ze wine, which was probably worth more than my salary, and went out ze doors. I don't know where she went, I assume she left ze country. C'est what I would do if my fairy tale fiancé was caught with another woman!" She laughed. "And you want to know what Mr. Han did? He just turned to me and we continued. 'I'll worry about her later,' was what he said. 'I know how to make it up to her.'"

"Thank you, Miss Malcouer, but I think we have heard all we need," the blonde woman said, the image of the French girl disappearing from the screen. Seven glanced to MC. Silent tears ran down her face.

"MC, does any of that not make sense with what you know happened?"

She shook her head, which Seven was afraid of.

"He kept extending his business trips... he took random calls, left me in the middle of dinner... I wondered why the modeling agency deal took so long to go through, normally they are closed in a manner of days." She sniffled. "I'm so stupid. I didn't notice it before. I should have asked him or something about what was going on."

"MC, you're not stupid," Seven said, dumbfounded that she even thought that. "The only stupid one here is Jumin for cheating on you."

"Cheating on me..." She repeated. "I never thought this would happen. Not with him."

"None of us did," Seven admitted. "He was so in love with you. But it looks like he rushed things. Maybe it just wasn't meant to be."

"No," MC said. "It wasn't." She stared at the floor, tears still falling soundlessly.

Seven edged closer to her and put an arm around her shoulder. "Just don't think about him, okay?" He whispered. "He's a dick. He's awful. The whole world knows now."

"Do.. do you think-" she started, interrupted by the sound of her cellphone ringing.

"I bet I can guess who that is," Seven remarked. MC eyed him questioningly, pulling her phone out from her pocket. 

"Zen," she commented, pressing answer and putting him on speakerphone.

"MC!" He shouted. "MC, oh my god, I just saw the news, that guy! That girl wasn't even hot, you're much nicer than she is--"

"Hi, Zen," Seven interrupted. "You're on speakerphone."

"Seven!" Zen shouted again. "MC is there, right? Did she see the news?"

"She lived the news," Seven responded flatly. 

"MC, are you okay?" Zen asked, ignoring Seven's sarcasm. He sounded absolutely concerned.

"I'm alright, Seven has been a great host," she said weakly. "I guess the whole world knows now what happened."

"What are you going to do?" Zen asked. "Are you still engaged? Have you talked to him?"

"I haven't talked to him, and I don't really know," MC said, fiddling with the ring on her finger that Seven noticed she had yet to take off. "I don't know how he'd ever fix this."

"Don't even give him the chance! He's embarrassed you in front of the whole world by sleeping with that girl," Zen said angrily, "if you let him talk to you, you might forgive him. Don't be one of those girls who sticks with their ex after they cheated. If he loved you, he wouldn't have done this."

"Zen, I don't want to forgive him, but I would like to hear his side of the story," MC said softly. "I know what I saw, and I now know what that girl thinks she saw. Maybe-"

"What else could have possibly been going on?" Seven cut in. "He slept with a girl for a month, the proof is all there. We don't know why, or how, or how it would have ended had you not found out. The thing that bothers me the most is that he was going to just end it and continue with the marriage and not mention it." 

"I know!" MC said. "I have a lot going on in my mind now. Don't get me wrong... I'm so angry, I'm upset, I'm lost and confused and worried for my future... but I don't want to do anything brash. I know you two don't love Jumin right now, but there's a part of me who still does. I promised my life and my future to him, and for the last three months, I considered nothing else... only him. And now that's gone, and I have nowhere to go, so if you would please just leave me to my feelings and not tell me how to feel-"

"We're not telling you how to feel," Seven said gently, touching her shoulder lightly to stop her rambling. "We're just trying to show you we're here for you, and we don't want him to take advantage of you again. You're just so innocent and kind, he might use that to get you to forgive him..."

"Seven's right," Zen added. "MC, you're beautiful inside and out. Jumin knows how kind and sweet you are better than any of us, but he also knows how to use people. He could use that against you."

"I love him," MC said weakly. "A part of me always will."

"That's okay," Seven offered. "We're not trying to get you to hate him. We're just trying to..."

"To prevent you from doing something you'll regret," Zen finished. "Could you really go back and have a relationship with a man who cheated on you a month before you were getting married?"

"No," MC whispered. "I don't think I can."

"Zen," Seven said suddenly. "Let's leave MC alone with her thoughts for a little. Are you coming over later?"

"Yeah, I'll bring some takeout," he said. "It's bad for your health but... whatever. I'll do an extra gym session this week."

"What kind of take-out do you like?" Seven asked MC, who shrugged.

"Jumin didn't allow me to have anything other than what his chef and restauranteurs made. Honestly, anything would be fine by me, you can only have so much sashimi and filet mignon..."

If not for how sad she looked, Seven would have made fun of her for complaining about eating fancy food. "Zen, how about... anything other than French."

"Sounds like a plan," the actor responded. "I have a rehearsal. MC, keep your head up, mkay? Don't let that girl or the CEO-in-line get you down. You're wonderful."

"Thanks, Zen," MC said. "I'll see you later, then."

"Bye bye," Seven added. MC pressed the end call button.

Seven untangled his arm from around her shoulder, cocking his head and looking at her eyes, which were-- thankfully-- no longer spouting tears.

"Now what?" He asked. "Want to watch a movie or something?"

"Not really," she admitted. "Don't you have work to do?"

"Yeah, but I can put it off for a little longer. You're more important," Seven said. MC gave a tiny smile.

"Could I see what you do? I'm always curious. I understand if it's like... classified."

"You can see it, but I don't know if you'll understand it," Seven said honestly. "Here, come on. Let me grab a second chair and you can come keep my company."

"Oki doki," MC said, rising to her feet. As Seven made his way over to turn the TV off, she sneezed-- and then sneezed again, and again, and again.

"Bless you bless you bless you bless you bless you," Seven said. "I forgot you have a cold. Do you need meds or anything? I'm sure I have some sort of thing to fix you up--"

"I'm good," she said, sniffling a little bit but otherwise smiling. "Thanks for the concern, Seven. I mean it, it really means a lot to me right now."

Maybe it was the way that she said it, or perhaps the way that she looked at him-- dressed in his clothes, looking frail and weak but still absolutely radiant-- Seven found himself blushing, avoiding her gaze. "It's nothing, really," he said, staring at the floor. "Uh... come on, then."

As they made their way to his office, the intruder alarm beeped again. "Let me grab that," Seven said. "You stay here."

MC obliged, stopping in her tracks in the hallway and watching Seven as he made his way to the front entrance. He punched a few numbers into a keypad and unlocked the door.

One of C&R's employees stood there, holding two large duffel bags. "I assume this is Luciel Choi's residence?" He asked, eyeing Seven and the bunker uneasily. 

"Yep!" Seven said, taking the bags out of his hands. "Thanks."

"Mr. Han told me I had to see with my own eyes that his fianceé is doing well," the employee said gruffly, staying rooted to the spot. "Could I see her, please?"

"Nope, sorry," Seven responded casually, making his way to close the door. The employee stuck his hand through the crack, prying it open.

"I was told to use force if necessary, and, if you refuse to comply, Mr. Han will file a suit for you keeping her hostage," the employee practically growled. "I understand you're an IT guy? Don't make me use force on you, boy... I don't want to hurt you."

Seven laughed. "Jumin would sue me for letting his fianceé stay with me after he cheated on her? Nice try."

The man threw a sloppy punch towards Seven's nose, but he caught his hand with ease, twisting it to the side and pushing him backward. "Sorry, bud. She's fine. Go ahead and tell Mr. Future Director that he's going to do a lot more than threaten me if he wants her to forgive him."

Seven slammed the door, locking it an extra three times, just in case. The employee probably didn't speak Arabic, but... you never knew.

MC stood there only a few feet away from the door, looking shocked. "So you heard that," Seven said awkwardly.

"He's threatening you now?" MC asked. "Seven, are you going to get in trouble because of me? Jumin always gets what he wants, and if he sues you or something--"

"In order to sue me he would need grounds for it, which he doesn't, since you're here on your own volition," Seven started. "Next, my job is avoiding trouble. If he tries to come for me, he's going to need more than a hot-headed security guard who can't throw a punch."

"He tried to punch you? Oh my gosh, are you okay?" MC asked, at Seven's side in seconds. "What is he thinking?"

"He thinks you're in danger or something," Seven grumbled, flattered by how concerned she seemed to be. "And yes, that man did try to punch me, but it's okay because he sucked and I had to go through physical training to deal with people a lot worse than him."

"Why was he even here? What's in those bags?" MC asked, looking at the two duffels. 

"Oh, right. I asked Jaehee to send over some of your stuff, just in case you stay here a bit longer. I'm fine with you wearing my clothes, but... they don't really fit too well, and I don't know how comfortable you'll be." Seven grinned awkwardly. "I don't know what sort of stuff is in them."

A few minutes later, the contents of the two bags were spread out onto Seven's living room floor.

There were two skirts, one pair of heels, two sweaters, a button-up silk PJ shirt with matching shorts, a silk nightgown, three dresses, one pair of jeans, one pair of faux-fur slippers, a wide variety of undergarments Seven tried his best to keep his eyes off of, and five different tops in one duffel, each folded delicately. 

The other contained three bottles of perfume, an electric toothbrush, the most expensive toothpaste Seven had ever seen by the looks of it, another silk PJ set, two pairs of socks, a heavily-stocked make-up bag, a jewlery box, multiple soaps, and a letter.

"I could move in with you at this rate," MC joked, looking at all of it. Seven held the letter in his hands. It had the official C&R Director's stamp on it. 

"I think you need to open this," he said, handing to her as she inspected one of the perfume bottles. "I assume it's for you."

"Oh, right," MC said, setting the bottle aside after spraying the inside of her wrist. It smelled heavenly. 

She took it from him and scanned it, biting her lip the whole time. Seven eyed her carefully, watching for a movement or sudden emotion-- nothing.

"It's from Jumin," she said when she was done reading, handing it to him. "You can read it."

Seven looked at the expensive parchment, arching an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

MC shrugged. "I don't really care anymore."

"That's dangerous," Seven said, taking the letter from her hands.

To my dearest fiancée, 

I wish to call you, but I know for certain you won't pick up. When I heard your things were being sent to Seven's, I insisted they include a letter from me. Even if you cast it aside, you will at least know I'm thinking of you now.

If you have seen the news, then I'm sure you're aware of one side of the story. You and I both know what you saw, and I have no intentions to deny it, but I will tell you-- what I feel for that woman is nothing like what I feel for you, and if anything, the relationship I've had with her is solely based on physical attraction. I sought to be better for you, to understand myself and my desires more. The time I spent with that woman made me crave you even more.

This begs the question, I'm sure, of how it started in the first place. The answer is business. That woman said to the media I drew out the deal on purpose, but that is hardly the case. She drew the process out longer herself, wishing to spend more time with me. It was clear as day, and finally, I thought if I gave her what she wanted, the deal would close. 

One time for her was not enough. Just as I lust after the look in your eyes after a night well spent, she desired the thrill of an affair. A secret relationship with a celebrity, an engaged, rich, celebrity was her wish, and who was I but to give it to her. My dearest MC, you know me better than anyone. I needed the deal to please my father. If we expanded into the modeling industry, we would have gained capital and expounded upon the industries we already are prominent in. 

The relationship I have had with that woman was shameful, immoral, and wrong, and I know that it has hurt you, but I implore you to consider this: I am a more experienced man now. I can give you more than I have before. While my intentions were not this originally, it occured to me as I write this. I would gladly prove this hypothesis to you any given night you ask.

I was going to tell you. Just as the woman said on the news, last night was the last time. I had put a stop to it once and for all, and yet she still desired one more time with me. I still remember that look in your eyes you had. You just looked so hollow, so shocked. And I suppose you deserve to feel that way.

This is not how I wanted to apologize, and yet here I am. If you can find it in your heart to forgive me, it will only solidify the love I feel for you, the love that I will never stop feeling for as long as I live. 

Please, my darling MC, my princess, my true love. Come back to me. You can't hide with Seven forever. He is dangerous. I can protect you and give you everything you ever wanted and more. 

I am so very sorry.

I love you.

Jumin Han 

"He sure knows how to write," Seven mumbled, tossing the letter aside. "Do you believe him?"

"Not for a second," MC said, quietly. 

"That was an awkward read, you know that?" Seven commented, frowning. "I mean... it's like his mind only thinks of one thing. That's not the Jumin I know in that letter."

"Hey, Seven?" 

"Hm?" 

"You're not dangerous," she said slowly. "I don't think you're dangerous."

"You should," Seven said. "You should assume all men are dangerous before you spend a bunch of time with them."

MC laughed. "You sound like Zen, first of all. And I think I've spent enough time with you to figure it out, second."

"Is Jumin dangerous?" Seven questioned, not really expecting her to answer. She nodded quickly.

"Oh, yes. When he wants something, he does any and everything he can to get it. And once it's in his possesion... he holds onto it as tight as he can. It's suffocating." She shook her head. "Pretend I didn't say that last part, okay?"

"If he was suffocating, why did you want to marry him?" Seven asked. MC pressed her lips into a tight line.

"Seven..."

Seven realized all too late he had asked something she didn't have the answer to, or at least one she didn't want to come to terms with. 

"Hey, forget I asked, okay? Do you want to change into any of this?" He asked, waving his hands to all the neatly folded clothes. "If not, we can go put them away somewhere."

MC looked down at her t-shirt and flannel pants. "I'm fine in this."

"Alright, then help me move it into my bedroom," Seven said, already gathering the clothes into his arms. MC followed after. 

"I feel horrible sleeping in your bed. I can always go on the couch, or on the floor or something. I'm already impeding on your space enough," MC said as they walked, Seven unable to see anything over the mountain of silken, expensive clothes in his arms. 

"Someone's got to sleep in it," Seven said plainly, "and I certainly don't, so why not you?"

"You should get a hold of your sleep schedule," MC said lightly, turning into the bedroom and setting the clothes she was carrying on the bed. "It'll make you feel so much better."

"I'm perfectly fine sleeping with my face on my keyboard." To accent his point, Seven stretched, his back letting out a satisfying pop. "See? Perfectly fine."

"That's not fine," MC protested. "Why don't you sleep in a bed?"

"Because, like cockroaches, hackers come alive at night!" Seven said dramatically. "So I must stay up until the dark hours!"

"Seven, is what you do legal?" MC asked.

"No comment," he grinned. "Come on. You still want to see what I do?"

"Oh, definitely!" She said, following him as he made his way to his office.

He powered his PC on, watching as the 5 monitors, three keyboards, and assorted other accesories he had connected whirred to life in a blur of lights and fan noises. He loved his computer room-- he had the world at his fingertips when he sat there, surrounded by data and machine. 

"You sit here," he said, showing her to his fancy chair, "and I sit here." He plopped down in the dining chair he had swiped from the kitchen, positioned at the center of the U-shaped desk. MC sat behind him, looking around in fascination.

"What could you possibly use so many screens for?" She asked, bewildered.

"CCTV over here, LOLOL client here, messenger open here-- to-do list here--" As he pointed out the numerous screens and their purposes, he caught MC staring at one in particular. 

"What's this?" She asked, pointing to the one on his farthest right. "That looks like-"

Seven blushed. "It's just my photo gallery."

"Do you have a folder for every RFA member?" She asked, for the screen was open to pictures of her, and only of her. None that Seven shouldn't have, of course, just the ones she and Jumin had shared on the messenger. Selfies, pictures of her and Jumin-- everything, collected into one spot.

"Yeah, but I had yours open because I was checking something. One news story released your picture, and I had to make sure that it wasn't one from the messenger. I don't know how they got it, but I've never seen it before," Seven lied, pulling up the first news article his browser suggested and praying it was about her and Jumin.

Thankfully, it was, boasting a picture of her and Jumin grinning together. MC was dressed elegantly in a red ballgown, Jumin in a suit with a matching red tie.

"Oh, that looks like a picture from last month's Humane Society benefit ball," MC said. "I hated that dress, but Jumin insisted the red brought out my eyes."

Seven turned to look at her, dressed in a green t-shirt with red and black flannel pants. "You definitely look much better now."

"Thanks," she muttered. "Can I see Zen's folder?"

Seven panicked for a second. She was onto him!

"If I pull it up, it will crash my poor computer," Seven pouted. "Too many selfies, and his skin is just too blinding. My graphics chip can't handle it."

"Sure," MC said, rolling her eyes. "Whatever. Can you just change it? I don't like seeing all those pictures of me."

"Why?" Seven asked, hearing the tone of her voice change from joking and casual to something deeper, something sad.

"Oh, nothing," she responded quickly, waving her hand. "It's nothing."

"You know I once had to do a seminar on interrogation techniques, and part of it was focused on the term 'nothing,'" Seven began, lying once more half to get her to tell him what 'nothing' meant and half to entertain her. "Especially in young women who choose to be vague about things that are definitely not 'nothing.'"

"Fine," MC conceded, pointing to one photo. It was of her and Jumin, relaxing together on a beach. She was in a white bikini that made her pale skin look slightly tanned in contrast. "We were on a vacation here. He had to take a day trip into the city to do a business deal, and when he came back, he had the modeling agency notes with him."

She pointed to another photo, one where the two of them were dressed in matching black attire with black, feathery masks. "This one we were out of town for another benefit party, where he flew me home two days before he came home so he could have dinner with the clients at his hotel room."

Finally, she pointed to one selfie, where her hair was tied up in a bun and a thick, green substance covered her face. "This one I took because Jumin was telling me about the models he had met. He didn't shut up about how clear their skin was, so after suggesting I invite their dermatologist to the party, he told me I should take after them and pay my skin more attention," she commented. "That mask made me break out and I had zits for a week."

"I see," Seven said. 

"Will my legacy in the RFA, whatever impact I have on the world in the future, and everything else aside from that really be influenced by him?" She breathed. "It's clear as day to me now what he was up to, and I can't believe I didn't see it before. I feel so stupid. Why did I stay with him?"

"Did you honestly have anywhere else to go?" Seven prompted gently. She shook her head.

"I know you had your doubts, and this just confirms them. But I'm telling you, forget about him for now. I'm here, I'm not going to hurt you or cheat you or any of that... forget him for now."

And then MC was out of her seat, hugging Seven awkwardly from where he sat in his chair. "Oh," he said, surprised as her thin arms wrapped around him.

"Why are you being so kind to me when I have done nothing but impede on your space and burden you?" She mumbled into his chest. He hugged her back, pulling her to where she was almost sitting on his lap-- almost. It was awkward, but so was he, and so it felt real... genuine, perhaps. 

She wrapped her legs around him, pulling herself closer and nestling her head in the crook of his neck. It almost felt too intimate to be a hug--he caught a glimpse of the way she was smiling. It was like a moment a couple would share, not one that friends would have. He knew her relationship with Jumin was on the rocks, but even so... he felt dirty.

So he pushed her away.

She awkwardly got to her feet. "I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have hugged you without asking, I know some people don't like to be touched-"

"No, no," Seven said, already cursing himself. The girl he was in love with was entangled with him on a dining chair and had no intentions of moving, and he shoved her away. How was he supposed to explain himself? "Uh... I just thought of something, is all."

"What?" MC asked.

"I guess... are you still engaged to Jumin?" He asked, flushing. "It was just a thought."

MC immediately looked embarrassed, which was not Seven's intention at all. Had he just shamed himself out of receiving more hugs? "I suppose it hasn't officially been called off yet," MC said. "But until I see him face to face, I don't suppose anything will be arranged."

"If he comes by later to take you to dinner, will you talk to him?" Seven asked. "And for gods sake, stop standing like you're mad at me... sit back down."

"I'm not mad at you," MC said, obliging and sitting back down, making it very obvious she was trying not to touch him-- keeping her feet away, angling her legs away from his. "And... probably. Maybe not face to face like I said, but... through your mic? Like you did earlier?"

"I don't think that's the best idea..." Seven said, the thought of Jumin and MC having a heartfelt-- possibly, or otherwise explosive-- conversation through his speaker system not exactly appealing to him. "I don't really want to let him near you, I'll be honest. If you talk, it'd probably have to be in here."

"In here?" MC asked, looking around at the office. 

"No, I meant, like, in the bunker," Seven said. "If you talk anywhere else, he might run away with you or something. Here, even if he tries, I'll have eyes on him and can lock all the exits."

"You think he would try and take me by force?" MC asked, worried. Seven looked at her gravely. Her knees were drawn tight against her chest again, her chin resting atop them. She looked scared.

"Like we've said a thousand times, Jumin always gets what he wants, and he always thinks he's right. If he thinks I'm holding you hostage and if he believes he really is no way at fault here, he's going to try and get you to go with him, by your choice or not." Seven sighed. "For now, I gotta protect you from that. If you told me right now you wanted to go to him, I'd be fine with that, since that's what you want. But I don't think that's what you want."

"You're right, it's not what I want. But, Seven-- Luciel," she said, using what she believed to be his real name for the first time. She reached out and touched his hand gently, forcing him to look her in her amber eyes. "I don't... know what I want anymore."

She sounded so confused and genuine it made his heart flutter for a few seconds. For a few seconds, he pretended she wanted him. Their life flashed before his eyes.

And then they were interrupted. 

"Seven, I've returned to fetch my future wife for a sincere, expensive lunch," Jumin Han's voice said, flooding the office. 

"Why didn't my security system tell me he was here...?" Seven muttered to himself, politely pushing past MC and looking at the video feed for his front door. Jumin stood there, one step out of range of the motion sensors he had activated, looking smug. "And wasn't he supposed to be eating with V...?"

Seven pressed the button that unlocked the door, finding the mic and clearing his throat. "Come on inside if you want to talk to her. I won't be listening, but if you try anything, I will know." 

He set the mic aside, still watching Jumin. MC looked at him, frightened. "Seven, I can't talk to him!"

"Then let him talk to you," Seven said, not meeting her gaze as he eyed Jumin, who was still hesitating at the doorway. "I'm sure you'll think of a bunch of responses when you hear what he's got to say."

"Are you sure about this?" MC asked. "I don't know if I can face him without crying."

"Would it help if I was with you?" Seven asked, turning to look at her as her fiance ducked through the doorway, disappearing out of view from the camera. "I won't say anything if you don't want me to."

"Yeah... it would help, I think," MC said weakly. "Do I look okay? Do I look like I've been crying?"

"Yes and yes," Seven said, pulling her to his feet. "He's in the living room. Come on."

Seven thought his missions and his profession were dirty. He thought he had seen true hatred, true filth, and true animosity in his line of work. He thought he knew what tension and pressure were like-- what would be more stressful and nervewracking than breaking into the hideout of a cult to break out hostages? What could be worse than being held at gunpoint by a man who only spoke Somalian, who looked really angry?

But he had never seen the look MC had before, not on the Somalian agent, not on anybody. The look of a woman who had caught her fiance cheating was one he hoped no woman would ever give him. 

The tension in the room could have been cut with a knife. As MC and her fiance, CEO-in-line Jumin Han, locked glances, Seven felt all the hair on his body stand up. 

Jumin was known for his stony demeanor and his cold looks, the sort that scared people into making deals and doing what he wanted. If looks could kill, he would have a high bounty on his head, at least in Seven's world. 

But nothing compared to 5 foot tall MC, dressed in Seven's pajamas with eyes puffy from crying. Her fists were shaking but her eyes were narrowed into slits as she walked into the living room. Seven half expected black lines to appear, shrouding out the rest of her face like what happened in those old western movies when two rival cowboys met. 

Jumin, on the other hand, looked like he melted a little bit. His gaze softened and he reached out his hand, as if to pull her into him. He looked weak, terrified, even. "MC..." He said. "I'm so glad to see you looking alright."

She just glared at him, stopping a few feet away, Seven behind her. "N-no thanks to you," she stuttered out, the uncertainty in her voice betraying the confidence she was obviously feigning. 

"I know. I know. God, I know," Jumin said. "Did you read my letter?" He took a step forward. MC took a step back, running into Seven's chest. 

She brushed it off. "Yes." Her voice didn't falter that time! 

"MC... I don't expect you to forgive me," Jumin said. "But I wish you would stop hiding here. I promise I can make it up to you, I promise you won't be upset with me any longer-"

"How?" MC demanded, interrupting him. "How do you plan to alleviate my anger?"

"MC, I can make anything you ever wanted possible. I can buy anything you want. You name it, I'll do it for you." Jumin said. "Food, clothes, a new house... your life will be perfect with me, MC. I can make it perfect for you."

"You expect me to just marry you?" MC blurted out. "After you... after you cheat on me with a French model? After you embarrass me in front of the entire world? And you think that money can just buy your way out of it?" 

"What happened with Juliet was a mistake. It won't happen again," Jumin insisted. "I swear it to you, for as long as I live."

"A mistake?" MC croaked out, her voice cracking with what Seven had now come to recognize as a warning sign for tears. "You spend a month before we're married sleeping with a woman who wants you only for your money and fame and don't even try to excuse it? You just try to buy me out of it?"

"MC, my relationship with Juliet was a mistake, but it opened up my eyes to how fortunate you are to have me as your partner, as someone who will love you unconditionally." Jumin cleared his throat. Seven could hardly believe his ears. Jumin really was a massive jerk.

"How unconditional is it if you sleep with other women?" MC practically whispered. "You promised your heart to me when you asked me to marry you."

"And it still belongs to you," Jumin said. "And only you, from now on."

"No... not from now on," MC said. "I'm done, Jumin. I gave you my heart, I gave you my trust. And you have ruined it. I can no longer marry you."

"No, MC, don't do this," Jumin said, his eyes flashing with something Seven couldn't read-- anger, worry, he couldn't tell. "MC, don't do this. Don't ruin your life because of one of my mistakes."

"Ruin my life?" MC practically laughed, coming out more like a hysterical question. "Who are you to say my life won't be alright if I don't marry you?"

"You are throwing away the opportunity to marry one of the richest men in the world, with a wonderful future ahead of him. You are throwing away the opportunity to become my wife. Do you know how many women lust after me, day after day?" Jumin asked, getting angry all of a sudden. Seven stepped forward, reaching out a hand to stop him before he came too close. 

"Jumin, I gladly throw away that opportunity," MC said, tears falling down from her eyes the same way they did the night before. "I no longer wish to marry you. The engagement is off."

"MC, I love you with all my heart," Jumin almost yelled. "I can't imagine a life where I don't have you by my side."

"Then you shouldn't have gotten caught with that model," MC sobbed. "Please, just leave. Please. I can't stand to see you right now."

"MC, I'm begging you," Jumin pleaded, stepping forward and grabbing her hand, which she yanked back. Seven stepped between them, speaking up for the first time.

"Jumin, I think it's time you leave," he said harshly. "Allow me to show you the door."

Don't do this, MC," Jumin said. "Don't do this. Don't do this over one mistake."

"It was so much more than one mistake," MC said as Jumin was almost shoved out by Seven. 

And then she turned, sobbing, running back into the office. 

Seven put a hand on Jumin's shoulder, roughly pushing him back towards the entrance. "I think you've said enough," he muttered.

Jumin pushed Seven off him and walked to the doorway himself, pausing with his back to the red-haired hacker. "She will never take me back, will she?" He asked, his voice trembling in a way Seven had never heard it. 

"You really, really hurt her," Seven responded. "Only time will tell... but if I had to guess, you've ruined it."

"But what am I supposed to do? About the wedding, and about the media... what is the world going to think of me? What about all the preparations?" He murmured to himself, turning to face Seven. His eyes were clouded with emotion-- a rare sight for the normally cold-hearted business man. 

"You should have thought about all that before you slept with that woman," Seven spat. "Tell me, Jumin. Are you this upset because you got caught, or because you actually did it?"

Jumin didn't respond, only glared back.

"I see," Seven said, shaking his head. "I need to go comfort her. Please... don't make this harder than it already is. You're not the victim here."

"You won't understand," was all Jumin said. "You can't understand."

And with that, he turned and walked briskly back to his car. 

Seven punched a few commands into the control pad he had at the front entrance, locking it and re-enabling all the usual security protocols. One never could let his guard down in his line of work.

When he walked back to the office, he saw that it was empty. I could have sworn MC ran in here, he thought to himself, checking the bathroom and the kitchen-- both empty. He re-checked the living room, the closets, all the rest of the large bunker-- empty. 

And then he realized he hadn't checked his bedroom.

Sure enough, the door was closed, the faint sound of sobbing coming from behind it.

"MC?" Seven asked, knocking lightly on the door.

"G-go away," she mumbled back. "I need to be a-alone right now. I-it's embarassing."

"If you want to be left alone, I'll leave you alone," he replied. "But I'm here for you if you need me to be. Zen will be here soon, but I can tell him to leave, if you want. Or I can just tell him you need a bit."

"N-no, don't send him away," MC said, her shaky voice barely making it through the door. "A-and I guess you can c-come in if you want."

Seven pushed his way through the door. She was sitting not on the bed, but on the floor, her back against it instead. She had pulled the duvet down and wrapped it around her shoulders. 

"I'm so sick of crying," she whispered when she saw him. "Especially i-in front of you."

"Then don't cry," he said plainly, going and sitting next to her. She moved the blanket, allowing him to be wrapped in it, too. It was such a sweet gesture, Seven felt his heart melt a little. "But I don't care if you do. Everyone cries."

"You don't think it's p-pathetic?" MC asked, looking at him. He took his thumb and wiped away the few tears still leaking out of her shining amber eyes. 

"MC, you caught your fiance cheating on you and then got stuck outside in the rain, then woke up in my weird house with no recollection of what happened. Then, your asshole fiance shows up here and tries to pretend like he's the victim here..." Seven trailed off, cocking his head and resting it atop hers. "I think anyone would cry right now. Your life is one big question mark, you don't know how to feel... I've been there, too. And I cried."

"You've been in my situation?" She asked, looking up at him. He nodded.

"My life has been pretty all over the place. As an informant for my agency, we have to be ready to give up our lives and identities at the drop of a hat..." He frowned. "I've made enough money in the few years I've worked for them to be able to retire now and be set for life. But it's really hard to quit the agency, so... I've been thinking a lot. About my next move. Because I like it, but the problem is, I can't be somebody if I work for them. I can't be who I am, because then I am someone and not the faceless agent they seem to want me to be." 

She furrowed her brows. "That sounds a lot worse than a three-month old relationship ending."

"MC, tell me, what was the saddest moment of your life before this?" Seven asked, although he probably could guess the answer. The background check he had done on her the first day she came to the RFA told him that her parents had both died in a car wreck when she was younger, leaving her with almost no family, as the rest lived overseas. 

"I never really thought about it," she responded. "I guess the day my parents died, but I was so little, I never really thought about it. You can't miss someone you have no memory of."

"Pain is relative," Seven affirmed then, looking down at her. "What hurts me might not hurt you, and vice versa. But it's still pain, and how you deal with it is valid, especially if it's just crying. Crying is a natural human function. You're not a pathetic person because you cry, nor do I think badly because of you because you do it in front of me."

"You know something, Seven?" MC asked then, moving her head to look him directly in the eyes. Although she still looked pained, she was no longer crying. 

"I know lots and lots of things," Seven responded. "Numerous coding languages, a ton of spoken languages, advanced math and science, engineering--"

"No, that was supposed to be a rhetorical question. Like, I'm about tell you something I just realized. You've never heard that expression before?" The sad twinge to her voice had been replaced by something else-- annoyance, perhaps, but with plenty of amusement to balance it out. 

"No, I have, I just wanted to brag on my knowledge for a second," Seven answered, happy that she was feeling well enough to joke around with him. "I know lots more, too. Physics, some chemistry, hand-to-hand combat, programming and development..."

"I suppose humility isn't one of the things, then?" MC asked, grinning to herself. Seven rolled his eyes.

"You were going to say something...?"

"Oh! Right." MC collected herself for a moment, rather unsuccessfully failing to get rid of her little smile. "For a few moments there... I don't know. I guess, when I met you in the chatroom, I never would have thought you had that side to you." 

"You mean because I'm so hilarious and energetic all the time?" Seven asked, jumping to his feet suddenly and striking a totally ironic super hero action pose. "Defender of Justice Seven-Zero-Seven is more multifaceted than you think, capable of feeling more emotions than joy and irony!"

"That's not what I mean," MC said, laughing to herself. "I guess... you were so lighthearted and kind, I never would have considered you..."

"I'm a hacker, I have to have a tragic backstory!" He smirked, changing poses. He was glad she was smiling now, all thoughts of Jumin now gone. "And a tragic future, surely!"

"Your future doesn't have to be tragic," MC said, rising to her feet too and walking over to him, taking his hands from the weird pose he had contorted into and holding them. "I can be by your side. I'll be here for you, just like you were here for me through this."

He knew she didn't mean it in a romantic way, but Seven still found himself shaking his head rapidly. "No. I can't drag you into my future. It's too dark and dangerous... you see all this security stuff I have, right? This is going to be my life. Even with you as a friend by my side... you might get hurt."

"I can handle being hurt," MC said. "I might cry, but crying doesn't equal weakness. I'm stronger than I appear."

What are you trying to say, MC...? Seven wondered.

"Zen is at the door," the security system announced, interrupting their moment.

He should have been happy, but instead, he felt... disappointed. Like it was about to go somewhere.

"How does it know it's him?" MC asked.

"I coded it to recognize his face awhile ago. It's pretty unique, so it wasn't hard," Seven explained. "And he comes to visit a lot."

"Can I change really fast?" MC looked down at her attire. "I don't want to wear any of that crap he brought me, but Zen shouldn't see me like this..."

"No, yeah, go ahead," Seven said. "I'm going to go mess with him. We'll be in the living room, just come on out when you're ready. But MC...." Seven said, trailing off. "You'll look beautiful no matter what you wear, if that's what you're concerned about. And Zen really doesn't care about that, he'll agree with me."

MC flushed the color of Seven's hair. "O-oh, thanks. But I would just feel better."

"Oki doki," Seven responded, giving her an awkward-yet-reassuring smile and making his way to the front door.

"Hi, Zen!" He said through the door. "What's the password?"

"There's a password?" Zen sputtered on the opposite side of the door. Seven clucked his tongue.

"Not even close."

"Okay, uh... Jumin Han is a massive asshole?" 

"Ooh, good first guess! But no, although true, that is not the password." Seven grinned to himself, watching Zen's confused expression through the peephole he had installed, the only thing resembling a window in the entire house. 

"Seven, I didn't know there was a password. Could you just let me in? I have food," Zen complained, holding up the bags of take-out. "And I need to see MC..."

"Ding ding ding! Food is always the answer," Seven said, unlocking the door and throwing it open to allow Zen inside. "Tell me, though. Did the AI make you speak Arabic? I tried to get it to shut off for you, but I fell asleep halfway through coding it..."

Zen looked like he had just come from the gym, dressed casually in sweatpants and a white t-shirt with his acting company's label on it. "It asked me what your favorite color was."

"And?" Seven pressed, taking the bags from his hands and setting them on the living room table.

"I got it wrong..." Zen grumbled, "and it threatened to shoot me where I stood."

"Some friend!" Seven gasped, feigning surprise. "The answer, for future reference... a clear, ocean blue, deep and beautiful like the sky! An azure so shiny and lovely all who gazes upon it become enamored!" 

"So... Blue?" Zen asked, confused. He plopped down on the couch. 

"The blue that can be found only in my Elly's eyes~!" Seven exclaimed, twirling and falling next to him. Zen sneezed, something Seven always found funny. Two syllables usually wouldn't trigger someone's allergies, yet it worked like a charm for Zen. 

"And I should know this because...?"

"Because next time you visit, another wrong answer will lead to more than scary threats from my AI woman," Seven responded. "It's like when you get your phone password wrong, it locks you out first, but then disables it all together!"

Zen looked annoyed. "Seven, where is MC? Is she okay?"

"I'm here, I'm here!" She responded, walking into the living room no fully longer dressed in Seven's hand me downs. She had changed into a large sweater of hers-- sky blue, ironically-- but had kept the flannel PJ pants. "Hi, Zen!"

"Oh, you seem cheery!" Zen said, rising to greet her. He pulled her into a hug, lifting her up in the air and spinning her around a little. Seven caught a look at her face, and she was smiling.

 

Zen and MC never had as close a friendship as her and Seven, but the two still had a nice relationship. Through Jumin's quest to learn how to love, as Zen put it, Zen looked out for MC and warned her about the dangers a relationship with him would have. He protected her, or at least, tried to. Seven caught the feeling he kind of had a thing for her, too, but who wouldn't?

Seven couldn't imagine how Zen was feeling right now. He and Jumin had never really gotten along, but through MC, they had sort of forged a peace-treaty. Now, all of Zen's fears had been confirmed, and he had hurt not just a member of the RFA, but a friend. 

"How are you doing?" Zen asked, setting her down and leaving his hands clasped tightly on her shoulders. "We haven't seen eachother in awhile, and I knew I just had to come over here as soon as I heard what that jerk did."

"I'm doing... okay," MC confessed, glancing to Seven, standing awkwardly aside. "Seven has been an excellent host."

Seven smiled sheepishly. "I've just done my job as an RFA member."

MC's eyes hardened for a second, her smile disappearing. It lasted only a moment though, for Zen seemed to notice, too, and pulled her into another hug. 

"I'm so sorry. I know how it feels to have a relationship end so crazily." Zen's eyes clouded over and he looked like he might cry. "About a year ago, my girlfriend of a month left me for another actor in my company. She dumped me through text, right before a show... I still performed perfectly, don't worry, but I was so sad."

Seven doubted that really happened, but jumped in anyways. "I remember. But we were all there for him, and he got over it with all of our overwhelming support."

"As RFA members?" MC asked. Zen and Seven nodded. 

"But also as friends!" The actor cut in, his sadness from just seconds ago now gone. "Because that's what friends do!"

"Yeah, okay," MC said, pulling away from Zen. "I'm hungry. Can we eat?"

"Oh, of course. Does Seven not feed you?" Zen asked, fumbling around for the bag of take-out and beginning to arrange it all on the table. 

"We had a late breakfast. MC slept a lot," Seven explained. "And then we knew you were coming. So we held off."

"Plus Jumin showed up to take me to lunch , and just the sight of his face was enough to kill my appetitie," MC muttered. "For now, I mean. For now. Now I'm hungry."

"He came over?" Zen asked. "Where's he now? I want to give him a piece of my mind, and if he still wants dinner, I have this knuckle-sandwich..."

"Real mature," Seven commented, plopping down on the couch. "I'm sure his bodyguards would get to you first. And yes, he did."

"What happened?" Zen pressed, turning to Seven as soon as the food was perfeclty spread out on the table. "Did you let him inside?"

"Yeah, because he and MC needed to talk face-to-face and I knew if it was outside he'd run off with her," Seven said. "I'll go get some plates."

On his way to the kitchen, however, a thought occurred to him. 

Seven left Zen and MC alone in the living room, running to the office really quickly. He opened a browsing tab and typed in two words-- Jumin and Han. The first thing that popped up was, just as Seven had expected, a livestream link to a press-conference. 

"MC?" Seven called into the hallway. "And Zen too, I guess. Can you two come in here?"

MC appeared first with a plate of food in her hands. "You were taking too long, so I grabbed some myself," she explained, coming over and sitting on the arm of his chair. Zen showed up with his own plate a few seconds after, eyeing MC's position in proximity to Seven. 

"I left the other chair for you," she added. "Seven, what's going on?"

Zen sat down in the other chair, twirling his chopsticks in his plate of noodles. 

"First of all, please try and keep your food clear of the hardware, thanks," Seven said, glancing to their take-out. "And second... look at this." He opened the livestream just in time to see a well-dressed Jumin Han step in front of his official C&R press-conference backdrop. 

"How fast did they organize this? Jumin was just here," MC mumbled, leaning in closer to the screen. "That's on the second floor of the building, and a bunch of reporters usually just hang out there, but... this looks huge."

"Poor Jaehee," Zen commented. "She probably was in charge of all this."

"Jumin likes to organize his press conferences himself, so he knows who he's dealing with," MC said. "Jaehee likes to do things right, so she ends up inviting a wider variety of reporters than Jumin likes."

"Shh... it's starting," Seven said, turning to MC to make sure she was okay. She stared intently at the screen but gave no look like she was going to cry or lash out. 

"I suppose you all are wondering why I have called you all here today so suddenly," Jumin began. Zen chuckled to himself.

"It's almost like there's a national scandal or something involving him and his fiancee," he muttered. MC gave a tiny smile. 

"I am sure you all are aware of the news that has been released this morning regarding my relationship with a Miss Juliet Malcouer, a model for Lesbelles modeling agency, whom we were working on a deal with at C&R. I am here not to deny those accusations, but to provide my side of the story." Jumin cleared his throat and adjusted his cuff-links as the crowd murmured to themselves. 

"You heard that correctly. I take full responsibility for my actions. I did in fact have a relationship with her while at the same time being engaged to my lovely fiancee. It happened so quickly, I lost control of it. I intended to cut it off as soon as I could. But, as you all know... my dearest fiancee, who I will love for as long as I live, found me while trying to surprise me. I was cruel to her in my explanation and apology, if you can even call it that." Jumin took a shaky breath, showing the world the largest amount of emotion he had before. 

"It is because of this that our engagement is now off, as I'm sure many of you expected. The wedding scheduled for two weeks away is also cancelled." The group of reporters gasped audibly. "Thank you for attending this press conference. MC, my dear love, if you are watching this... I don't know if you can ever forgive me, but please know, I will love you forever."

The live feed cut off and MC turned to Seven, her plate of food abandoned. "I guess it's really over then, huh?" She mumbled, her face not showing any emotion. 

Zen reached out and clasped a hand on her shoulder. He was being rather touchy today, Seven thought. "I'm surprised he didn't try and reason with you further."

"Sounds like it's what he wanted then," Seven said grimly. "He either thought there was no hope in reasoning with you... or..."

"Come on man," Zen said, cutting him off. "Let's just go eat."

"Yeah, sure," MC said flatly, rising from Seven's chair and sidestepping around Zen. "Seven, do you want me to make you a plate?" She called from the hallway.

Zen looked at Seven with raised eyebrows. "Seems like..."

"It's not. We've always been close, Zen," Seven said quickly, answering the question Zen didn't even ask. "No thanks, MC, I got it!"

"Sure," Zen said, smiling dumbly. 

Seven shook his head, turning back to his screen to hide his smile, waiting until Zen left before following after. 

\---

Hours later, MC, Seven, and a tipsy Zen were crowded together in Seven's living room watching an old spy movie Zen had brought.

"You know none of this is realistic, right?" Seven asked, turning to MC. She sat beside him on the couch, her knees drawn close to her chest, eyes trained on the TV. "If I ever needed to rescue a hostage, I wouldn't do any of this."

"Have you ever had to rescue a hostage?" MC asked. Seven thought for a few moments.

"No. I've had to rescue some items, but never a person," he said. "I don't really go on field missions too much anymore. Most of what I do now is behind-the-scenes stuff, you know... hacking into security systems so that other guys retrieve hostages."

The spy on screen reached the holding cell where the hostage was being kept, a beautiful woman with a red dress that showed off her fake actress curves. The ropes tied around her only heightened the tightness of the dress. Zen's eyes were glued to the screen.

"I'd become a spy if I got to rescue women like that," Zen mused. 

"Most people you'd be rescuing are rich, old, white guys who didn't know what they were getting into financially," Seven said dryly. "Why was that woman even taken in the first place? Does it make sense to the plot?"

"Her dad was some mogul," MC responded. "They took her to try and get a ransom from him."

"That could happen," Zen exclaimed. "Complete realism."

"No, it couldn't, because she'd be surrounded by bodyguards should he ever get into any sort of trouble, if her daddy had any brains." Seven shook his head, grabbing for the remote as the spy and the woman began to make out. "Can we turn this off? And no, Zen, I'm not getting you in contact with my boss."

Zen pouted. "Don't turn it off, though. This story is really getting somewhere."

The spy began to claw at the straps to the woman's dress. Seven turned it off. "Somewhere we don't need to see. I mean seriously, they could at least wait until they're out of the holding cell. Her captors could come back any time."

"Not if there's a genius hacker to help them who can turn off the camera feeds and look at their movements," MC pointed out. Zen nodded.

"Seven, you and I could be a dream team. Agent 707, I'll be 808, and MC can be 606!"

"No thanks," MC said. "I need to get a real job now that I don't have Jumin... plus, I'm not exactly cut out to be a spy."

"Don't you get paid by V for coordinating the parties?" Seven asked. "And you'd be a great spy. You're tiny, you can fit into small spaces, and do you know how many times we need a woman to go undercover?"

"Is that why you dress like a girl all the time?" Zen questioned, reaching for another beer. MC gently took it from his hands. 

"Yeah, I do get paid by V, but it's not a lot... and I feel bad. We're a charity organization." MC shook her head. "Maybe I can get a job as a secretary or something. Or as a maid."

"Don't worry about any of that for now," Seven said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'll help you get any job you need. But do you even need one? You can sell all the stuff Jumin bought for you. That ring you stuffed under my pillow? That's enough for 10 years' rent."

"How do you know I stuffed it under your pillow?"

"I know things." Seven turned to Zen. "What do you think?"

"Seven, how much do you make? I mean you got all those cars, state-of-the-art technology, this-" Zen paused, looking around. "-house?"

"That's confidential, sorry," Seven responded. He did make a lot of money, now that he thought about it, although he didn't really use it. He could retire right now and support himself and a family for the rest of his life...

He turned to look at MC, nodding along as Zen told MC how much he made each show he acted in. She would never accept it, but he could buy a place for her and buy whatever she needed for the price of one of his cars. He would do it in a heartbeat if he could. She deserved it.

Or maybe, once he retired, she could be his maid. Not in any weird way, just that he wouldn't have Vanderwood to come over and annoy him. He kept his house spotless, so Seven never had to worry... speaking of Vanderwood, where was he?

Oh, no. 

"Hey, Zen? I think maybe you should leave," Seven cut in, stopping him mid-story about the time he played Ariel in the Little Mermaid. "I just remembered I have someone coming over, and she really doesn't like it when I have people over."

"What?" Zen and MC asked at the same time. 

"My lovely maid, Madame Vanderwood," Seven said, hurrying to collect all the take out boxes and wrappers and dumping them all into a bag. "She's odd. MC, you might need to hang out in my room until she leaves."

"What?" MC asked again. 

Vanderwood was not going to be pleased that Seven hadn't done any work all day. He always showed up at night with no announcement, and he wasn't sure how he was going to handle MC. Personal relationships were strictly not allowed, and even if Vanderwood was aware of the RFA, it didn't mean he was happy about it. It was only because Seven was so good at his job that he was allowed to stick around.

"I want to meet your maid though," Zen pouted. "You talk so much about her."

"No, no, you have to go," Seven said, unlocking the door. "Thanks for coming over, I'll call you later. MC?"

"Oh, right. Um.. bye Zen?" She stood up from the couch, wrapping her arms around Zen in one final hug. "Thanks for coming over, and thanks for the food. The movie sucked, but I'm glad you liked it."

"Feel better soon, love," he said. "Alright, Seven, weirdo. I'll see you soon."

And then Zen left, leaving a very confused MC alone with Seven once more.

"MC, let me let you in on a little secret," Seven said. 

"Oh boy, a hacker secret," she said nervously. "Will I get killed if I let it slip accidentally?"

"Mm.. no. But don't. That's not to say people would try to kill you, they would, I'd protect you." Seven shook his head. "But anyways! The person coming over is not Maid Vanderwood, but elite Agent Vanderwood from my agency. His job is basically to make sure I'm doing my job, and..."

"You haven't been doing your job because you're spending time with me?" MC finished. 

"Precisely, but I don't regret any of it," Seven admitted. "But now I really have to go hack some stuff, so I'll see you later... if he comes over, don't let him do anything weird, okay? I won't lock you up or anything, but he might be a little odd. He's a character."

"Okay," she said. "I'll just hang out in here, maybe finish that movie quietly?"

"Sounds perfect. I.. uh, I'll come and let him in if he shows up." Seven said, nodding awkwardly and sneaking back to his office, leaving MC alone in the living room. 

As soon as he made it to his computer, he turned on the security camera feeds for the living room and the front door, keeping them both open while he worked on the long list of things he had to do. About an hour later, just as he expected, Vanderwood was at the door. 

"Seven, I know you can hear me," he said angrily. "Let me in."

"I will, but there's a girl in my living room right now, and I don't want you to scare her, okay?" Seven responded through his mic. "Don't ask questions."

"A GIRL?" Vanderwood roared, loud enough Seven was sure MC had heard. 

"If I let you in, you promise you will not say a word to her?" Seven pressed, hand hovering over the unlocked button. 

"Yes, I promise," Vanderwood said.

"Where's your dictionary?" Seven asked, referring to the Arabic dictionary he carried around to get inside Seven's house without being let in.

"I left it somewhere. Please let me in," Vanderwood said. "I need to meet this girl."

"Don't scare her."

Not even a few seconds later, Vanderwood was through the door, down the stairs, and in his living room questioning MC. "Who are you? What are you watching? What is your relationship to Agent 707?"

"I-I," she stuttered, looking scared as he cornered her against the couch, finger pointed in her face. "I'm just here b-because..."

"She's a friend, her fiance cheated on her so she's crashing here," Seven said, appearing in the living room. "Vanderwood, leave her be."

"Oh, you were Jumin Han's fiancee?" Vanderwood asked, still leaning over her with his finger pointed in her face. She cowered against the couch, glancing to Seven for help.

Seven came over and grabbed Vanderwood by the jacket, pulling him off her and dragging him to his office. "I'll explain more away from her," he muttered. "There's nothing going on, so you can just leave her."

"Fine," Vanderwood said. "This house is so clean, though. I like her."

"Great, she's probably terrified of you so don't try anything," Seven said, throwing him into the extra chair and climbing into his. "I know you're here to make sure I'm working, and I am. I've just been busy with her."

"You like her, don't you?" Vanderwood asked, re-arranging the papers Seven had strewn across his desk. "It's kind of obvious."

"I don't, and it is not obvious," Seven said, hiding his gaze. "We aren't allowed to have personal relationships."

"When have rules ever stopped you?" Vanderwood pressed. 

"They could hurt her to get to me if they needed to," Seven said. "You know, like how you always threaten me. I don't care if you hurt me, but if you hurt her, then you're in trouble."

"I see," Vanderwood said. "So you like her but you don't want to like her."

"I'm not talking about this with you. Now go clean something and leave me alone, I'm almost done with this and it's the only late thing." Seven shooed him away, fingers flying against his LED keyboard.

"What do I clean though? It's all pretty much spotless," Vanderwood complained. 

"I don't know. Just leave her alone too and find something, I know you will," Seven said. "I'll be watching the feed. If you look in her direction, I'll know, and it'll keep me from working."

"Fine. But be quick, okay? I don't want to crash here if there's a... girl." Vanderwood said the word like it was poison.

"She's sleeping in my bedroom, too, so stay out of that. A bunch of her stuff is there and I don't think she'll want you touching it." Seven waited until he heard Vanderwood's footsteps and then logged onto the messenger, noting that the person he wanted to talk with most was already there. 

707 has entered the chatroom.

MC: Oh, hi!!

Yoosung★: Hey Seven, MC was just telling me about how she is staying with you

Yoosung★: Lucky you!! I wish MC could stay with me T_T

707: She might want to now T_T

707: My maid came over and scared her

MC: It was a little scary!! But your maid seemed...

707: Isn't she interesting?

707: I told her to leave you alone now, but if she does something, just come in and sit with me

Yoosung★: Seven lets you in his office MC?? 

Yoosung★: When I come over he barely even lets me in....

MC: I like his office. 

MC: And this movie Zen brought actually isn't that bad!! It's more fun to watch spy movies with an actual spy... but it's still fun!

MC: Aren't you supposed to be working though Seven?

707: I am working

707: You're looking at Agent 707, top multitasker in the agency!!

Yoosung★: Oooh, what are you doing?

707: Top Secret

707: Although if MC wants to know I'll tell her ^^

Yoosung★: No fair!!!!!

MC: If it's top secret, I don't think I need to know ^^

Yoosung★: Did Zen get to come over too? T_T

707: Ya, but he lives 20 minutes away and not at a university 3 hours away

Yoosung★: T_T

MC: Don't worry Yoosung!! I can come visit you soon if you want, it'll be easier for me to go there than you come wherever I am ^^

707: Ya Yoosung. I'll come too.

Yoosung★: What are you doing now, MC??

MC: I'm watching a movie on Seven's big TV about spies

MC: Zen brought it and it started out really bad but now it's good!!

707: I'm almost done w my work. Then I can come watch it w you

Yoosung★: Is it that movie Vagabond??? With the hot lady??

707: Ya. But she's not that hot.

707: There's no way anyone like that would ever be kidnapped. It's unrealistic.

Yoosung★: MC's right!!! I want to watch a spy movie with you too, Seven!!!

707: It's not so fun. I just point everything out that's wrong lol 

707: If you want real fun come watch the news with me. I can change the headers as much as I want ^^

Yoosung★: So cool T_T

Yoosung★: Hey btw Seven have you heard about when our next party is? It's been like 3 months since our last one

707: Yoosung my boy.....

707: I don't think now is a good time 2 be talking about the party.

Yoosung★: What??? Why??

707: U don't know the news?

Yoosung★: News???

707: Uh oh.

707: Involving our party coordinator and a certain rich other member of the RFA???

Yoosung★: Ooooooooohhhhhh that news

Yoosung★: You're right.... not a good time...

707: Speaking of our party coordinator, where'd she go??

707: MC???

Yoosung★: It says she's still in the chatroom.

Yoosung★: Maybe she forgot to turn her phone off?

Seven glanced to the feed from his living room. MC was on the couch, asleep.

707: Shes asleep lol

707: Ima go move her into my bed.

707: DONT take that the wrong way, its the only one in the house and that's where she's sleeping

707: T_T

707: Bye Yoosung

Yoosung★: Bye Seven!!

707 has left the chatroom.

"Hey, where are you going?" Vanderwood asked as soon as Seven left the office. He looked like he was re-arranging the framed pictures Seven had of various cats he had found on the streets.

"Shh," he said. "MC fell asleep so I'm going to move her to my bed."

"Is your work done?"

"Two more minutes and yes," Seven said. 

He walked into the living room, careful not to wake the sleeping MC on the couch. Compared to yesterday, she looked much more peaceful-- no tears were streaming from her face, and instead of being in a drenched, purple evening gown, she was in his pajama pants and a sweater. 

She was beautiful.

He picked her up gingerly, careful not to wake her. She stirred slightly but didn't wake up. "You're safe, MC," he whispered to her, sneaking past Vanderwood and into his bedroom, setting her down on the bed and tucking her in. She stayed asleep, much to Seven's relief.

He might have stared a little too long at her sleeping frame, stopping only when he sensed Vanderwood staring. Sure enough, he was there in the doorframe, a feather duster in his hand. 

"Nothing going on?" He mouthed as Seven sulked back to his office.

Seven ignored him.

\---

Two hours later, Seven had nothing else to do. Vanderwood had left with only a few judgemental stares, the hallway dust-free as well. Seven was very tired.

He knew he would eventually fall asleep at his desk, so he was mindlessly playing LOLOL, hoping he would run into Yoosung. That was until he heard a sound he had hoped he wouldn't hear again-- the raggedy breathing of an MC who didn't want Seven to hear her crying. 

He untangled himself from his headphones and stepped out of his office, noticing the door was already open to his bedroom. He knocked lightly against the wall, announcing his presence. "MC?" He whispered. "Everything okay?"

The sound stopped as MC pretended to be asleep. Seven sighed. "I know you're awake. What's the matter?"

"N-nothing," she responded. "Go away."

Seven flicked on the lamp, sitting down on the bed beside her. Sure enough, her eyes were puffy, her hair sticking to her face with tears. "Why are you crying?" He asked. 

"I wish you would stop seeing me like this," she mumbled. "I swear I don't usually cry this much."

"Your fiance cheated on you. You're allowed to cry as much as you want." Seven reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear, a gesture he hoped was nice and not over-reaching his boundaries. "Is this related?"

"Kind of," she said quietly. "I had a nightmare that Jumin snuck into this room and tried to lock me up in his penthouse."

"What?" Seven asked. "Why would he do that?"

"Do you remember when I first started staying with him?" Her voice was still shaky, Seven's hand on her shoulder still. 

"Of course. Rika's apartment was determined to be too unsafe." Seven furrowed his brow. "Did he do something?"

"Elizabeth the 3rd got out, and he started to freak out, since she was really his only friend," MC continued in the same quiet tone as before. "He got really concerned that I would leave him, too, and he had this cage that he stuck the cat in when she returned. He wouldn't let me leave, and he bought another cage, but I never saw him use it for anything."

"You honestly think he would lock you up?" Seven asked. "Like... a cat?"

"We've said it enough, but Jumin always gets what he wants... he has these tendencies, you know, the over-protective kind. I kind of thought it was hot at first, but the more he continued, it just got creepy... he installed a tracker on my phone, wouldn't let me go anywhere outside of the building without his permission until last week." Her voice changed from sad to annoyed.

"So this dream made you cry because...?" Seven asked. 

"Because I realized after that I don't love him anymore," she said. "If my subconcious is really conjuring up nightmares where he takes me from here, what does that mean?"

"And this made you cry because..."

"Because it made me wonder if the last three months of my life were a lie," she said simply, more tears coming to her eyes. "I'm sorry. This is what, the fourth time you've found me crying about this? It's getting repetitive."

"I don't care," Seven said. 

"I'm done though. I'm done crying. Tomorrow, I want to look for jobs and apartments-- online, I won't leave, I don't have a car or anything and I wouldn't expect you to drive me-- and I'm going to get my life together. I'll stop burdening you soon, I promise," she said quickly. 

"I have no more work, I can take you wherever," he said. "And you're not burdening me. I think it's so fun to have another person here, most of the time it's just Vanderwood around here."

"Are you sure?" She whispered. 

"Of course. I always promised I'd take you anywhere," he said, blushing when he realized how it sounded. "I mean drive. In my many cars."

"I remember," she said, smiling for the first time in their conversation. "I'll take you up on that."

"Oh," Seven responded, sure he was the color of his hair. He turned off the lamp, rising. "Are you okay? No more nightmares?" 

"I always get them," she said, so quietly he was sure she didn't want him to hear. "This is just the first time they've affected me like this."

"Well... then..."

"Did I wake you up?" She added quickly. "I can go to the couch if you want to sleep in your bed."

"No, it's fine, I'll take the couch," he said. "Just wake me up if you need anything."

"Actually!" MC said, incredibly quickly, covering her mouth with her hand as Seven turned to leave.

"Yes?"

"C-could you..." She trailed off. 

"Could I..."

"Could you stay in here?" She asked timidly. "I know it's stupid, but I-I-"

"Of course," Seven said, smiling. It was adorable. "Move over."

MC did, shuffling to the complete opposite side of the bed, wrapping the blankets tightly around herself and avoiding his gaze. "Thank you," she finally breathed after a little bit, when Seven was settled in. 

"Don't worry about it," he said. He reached out from the opposite side of the bed and traced her face with his thumb, moving aside any stray hairs still sticking to her tear-stained face. "Good night, MC. Sweet dreams."

"G-good night, Seven," she said. 

Seven was thankful the light was off, for if it was on, he would certainly be a darker red than his hair.

\---

When the hacker woke up, there was a small, brown-haired girl with her head on his chest. His arm was wrapped around her protectively, and hers wrapped around his arm, their legs tangling together under the blankets. She was still asleep, her hair an unruly mess.

Why was she with him, though? Is this what one would call... cuddling? Seven had never cuddled with anyone before. He was a hacker, a filthy cockroach who wasn't allowed to have relationships. This shouldn't be allowed. He should move her.

But he didn't.

She just looked so peaceful, quiet. Happy. He wondered if she was on him deliberately, or if she reached out for him instincitvely in her sleep-- Seven was sure she and Jumin slept like this every night. At least, Seven hoped they did-- if Jumin passed on such a beautiful opportunity, it was his loss. 

Just as last night MC came to the realization she no longer loved Jumin, Seven found himself in a similar situation as he gazed at the sleeping girl.

He loved MC.

He knew he liked her before, but that was before this whole debacle. Since the day he first saw her, he had liked her-- 'liked her liked her' sure, but never loved her. Love was something he didn't even know he was capable of feeling.

But it was the way she looked at him and the way she treated him, the way she was so quiet and cute and perfect. Seven could care less about looks but he found her gorgeous still. He was jealous of Jumin for getting to spend so much time with her, angry that he had thrown it all away when he was so close to calling her his wife. She deserved so much better.

But that wasn't with him. 

No matter how much he loved her, there was no way she would ever love him back. She deserved to be with someone like Zen, who was handsome and famous and could give her the life of grandeur she had before and the one she should have. 

She stirred slightly, gripping his bicep even tighter and nuzzling closer to his chest. His breath caught, careful not to wake her up. He didn't want to be seen awake and just staring at her, because no doubt she would be wondering why they were sleeping so close together, too. 

Seven closed his eyes begrudgingly, slowing his breaths and pretending to be asleep when he felt her stirring even more. Soon, he felt her wake up. "What the...?" She whispered, gently pulling herself off him as best she could. "Sorry, sorry, I don't know what happened..."

Soon, she had completely removed himself from him, shuffling back over to the other side of the bed. Seven pretended to wake up a few moments later, yawning and stretching and turning to look at her. She was burning a bright red, looking at him with wide eyes. 

"Good morning," he said, rubbing his eyes and grabbing his glasses off the side table from where he had put them the night before. "Did you sleep well? No more nightmares?"

"Uh, yes," she said. "I mean, good morning."

Seven climbed out of bed, yawning again to really sell the fact that he had just woken up. "I have nothing to do today, do you?"

"No," MC said, rising from bed as well and beginning to make it, something Seven had never done in his life. "I wanted to research some jobs and apartments and stuff, and maybe talk to Jumin about giving me some m-money." Her voice trembled at the end. "God, that's so embarrassing. But we had a joint bank account, and even if 99% of it was his, I still put my savings into it..."

Seven bit his lip, trying to restrain back the response that immediately came to his mouth. "That sounds... great. Let me know how I can help."

"Can you call Jumin for me? I-I don't think I can talk to him," MC said. "Or maybe I can call Jaehee and ask her instead. I haven't talked to her."

"I doubt Jaehee will pick up, but if she doesn't, I'd be happy to call the CEO-in-line," Seven said, helping her arrange the pillows on the now made bed. "Any jobs in particular you're looking for?"

"Maybe I can be a barista," MC said. "I don't know, really. Just whoever will take me. I don't really buy a lot of stuff and would live by myself, so I don't need some huge job for now."

"You'd be a good barista," Seven replied, the image of her in a cute little apron making coffee very appealing to him. "There's a coffee shop right around the corner. Want to see if they're hiring?"

"Sure, I'll make some breakfast first though," MC said. "Do you like French Toast?"

"Never had it." Seven turned around, glancing at the dresser that had his large array of sweatpants, t-shirts, hoodies... all the most comfortable clothing he could find. "I'm sure it's great, though. I'm going to shower, be out in a bit."

MC smiled at him. "Alright. I'll be in the kitchen."

Seven returned the smile, awkwardly ducking out of the bedroom and heading to his shower.

\---

"Smells amazing," he said twenty minutes later, walking into the kitchen to see MC with a pan of bread frying on the stove. She had changed into a pair of black leggings and a hoodie advertising SKY University. 

"Thanks," she mumbled, pointing to a plate already sitting beside the stove. "That's for you. I'm making mine now."

"Oh, that's okay. You can have that one, I'll wait," Seven said. MC shook her head.

"I insist. Also, I don't know if you have any, but it's really good if you add fruit or powdered sugar or chocolate chips on top." She suddenly glanced at him, eyes filled with concern. "You're not allergic to eggs or cinnamon or bread, are you?"

"You're in my kitchen," he said dryly. "If I was allergic to cinnamon I wouldn't have it."

"Oh..." She said, probably feeling stupid. "I just wanted to make sure. I guess I didn't think-"

"Thanks for thinking of me," he said, coming over and taking the plate with one hand, using the other to wrap it around her shoulders. "I'm sorry if I made you feel stupid for asking. That was my mistake."

She flipped the bread on the stove one last time, avoiding his gaze. "I'm smart, you know. Not like you, but I did well in school."

"I know." Seven panicked for a second. "I mean, I figured."

"Did you look up my grades?" She asked skeptically. 

"It was in my background check I did when you first joined... I had to make sure you weren't a delinquet or something," Seven said awkwardly. 

"What else did you find out?" She asked as he removed his arm from her shoulders hesitantly, digging out a fork from his drawers and hunting for some powdered sugar. 

"Hmmm... familial records, teachers' comments, criminal record or lack thereof, employers, lots of stuff. Nothing bad." Seven shrugged. "If I did, you wouldn't have been allowed in the RFA."

"Thanks for letting me in," MC said. "My life changed considerably. I wonder where I would be now if I didn't join."

"I'm glad you joined, too. I got to meet you," he said, giving up on the hunt for sugar and sitting down at the bar. "Mm. This is amazing, MC. You could be a chef."

"I'm happy to hear you like it," she said, setting down her plate next to him. "You know so much about me, though. Tell me something about you that I don't know."

"Uhhhh... no can do," Seven responded, mouth filled with French toast. "There's nothing to know about me. I'm a hacker, I live a pathetic life doing illegal things or stopping people from illegal things. I like Honey Buddha Chips and Dr. Pepper." He shrugged. "That's all."

"Do you have any family?" MC pressed, pouring syrup all over her breakfast.

"Not that I'm allowed to tell you about," Seven said, hoping he hid his pained expression. 

"I don't have any family," she mumbled. "But I'm sure you know that."

"I did know that," Seven said simply. "What was your life like before joining the RFA? I always wondered why you would ever follow a complete stranger's orders to go to a strange apartment. If anyone does that again, don't do it and tell me instead."

"I was lonely," She said quietly. "Very lonely. I didn't have any friends. Enough to follow a complete stranger's orders."

"I'm sorry," Seven said. He understood what she was saying-- he was lonely too. Her presence was the only thing that had helped in the last few months.

"Don't be," She beamed. "Let's not talk about that for now."

"Alright."

They ate their breakfast in silence.

\---

\---

\---

"Hey, Seven!" MC said as soon as Seven picked up the phone. "Guess what?"

Seven reclined in his chair, putting a pause on the hacking job he was doing. "What?"

"I got the job!" She said excitedly.

It had been a month since she stopped staying with Seven, instead moving into a tiny apartment three blocks away from his bunker. She had taken back her money from Jumin and sold a few designer things she'd never worn, earning herself enough there to keep afloat for a month (with a bit of help from Seven, but not that she'd ever need to know that). 

They still hung out together often, mainly at Seven's place so he could work. The Agency had somehow heard of his plan to retire soon, so they seemed to be tripling his workload. He barely had time to talk to her, but it was okay-- she still liked sitting in his office, watching him and encouraging him. He soon bought an entirely different office chair for her rather than a dining chair, the same model as his but in bright pink. MC loved it. 

As far as the RFA went, it was awkward. Jumin rarely came in to chat anymore, and when he did, it was awkward. Awkward just about summed it all up. Awkward.

They began to plan another party, taking up a lot of MC's time in her search for another job. It had been a hectic month, but a fun one nonetheless-- she had been so busy her mind had barely thought about Jumin and Juliet. Seven knew it still kept her up sometimes, but for the most part, it seemed as though she had gotten over it. 

Seven missed her presence. She stayed with him for just three days, leaving as soon as the apartment complex let her. He helped her move in, lending her a few objects from Rika's apartment since it was no longer used. It pained him to see her go, but she was happy to start over. Even so, they were still together, only a few buildings separating them now. 

"That's amazing," he said to her through the phone. "When do you start?"

"Next week! I have to wake up early, though." She sounded slightly disappointed. 

"At least your job'll have a regular schedule," Seven complained. "I never know when I have to wake up or when I can sleep. The Agency's mad at me, I haven't slept in a week..."

"I wish I could help you," MC said, and Seven knew she meant it. 

"Maybe I can teach you then. You won't be as good as me, but if you learn from the best, you might be just as good as some of the other agents," Seven said cheerfully. "Just don't tell anyone."

"You mean it?" MC gasped. 

"Yeah. I'm almost done with this week's work, so as soon as I'm done, I'm going to sleep for 16 hours straight and then you can come over, if you want." Seven groaned. The agency was dealing with a security problem that they were trying to keep as far away from him as possible, since they knew he was going to be leaving soon. Part of Seven thought they suspected him as the one trying to leak their info. 

He wasn't, but part of him wished he'd thought of it sooner.

"I can come over and make you something to eat," MC said sweetly. "It's been so long."

It really hadn't, just a week. But for Seven, it felt like forever. His diet had gone back to consisting only of honey buddha chips and Dr. Pepper. He missed MC's cooking.

"Sounds good. I can send you some money through Venmo or something if you want to buy food, to make or whatever. I have nothing here." He turned back to his computer to see an urgent message from Vanderwood telling him to finish soon. "Just text me, okay? I have to get back to work."

"You won't have to pay for it," she said. "Good luck on your work. I'll see you later."

"Bye bye!" Seven said, hanging up and casting the phone aside.

A few moments later, his phone dinged with a text from her. Heading out now, I'm going to the store first though! See you soon!

There was also a picture attachment, a picture of her smiling at the camera with a thumbs up. Seven's heart warmed just looking at it, and he instinctively saved the picture. 

Seven got back to work, a newfound motivation after speaking briefly with MC. He finished quickly, sending it to Vanderwood and headed to his bathroom to take a long deserved shower. It was early in the day yet-- 10 AM, maybe, and he had programmed it to let MC inside if she said a certain password. He could still sleep and wake up to her cooking...

Today was going to be a good day. 

\---

Seven woke up in his own bed later, alone and feeling groggy. He reached for his phone-- 4 PM. MC should be here by now.

"MC?" He called to the rather quiet house, thinking maybe she was trying to keep it down for his sake. He walked into the kitchen, but there was nobody. He checked the living room-- empty. His office was empty, his bathroom also empty. There was no sign that she was even there at all.

He checked his phone again, scanning for texts or missed calls that would explain why. She had said she was leaving at 10 AM, 6 hours ago. MC did tend to get distracted easily, but there was no way she would ever spend 6 hours shopping. It just didn't go with her personality. 

He called her, hardly worried. Perhaps she was just being forgetful or something and had fallen asleep.

His call went straight to voicemail.

Okay, maybe her phone is dead, he thought. He then went to the messenger, scanning through that day's logs-- the last thing she had said was at 10:30, when she told Yoosung and Jaehee she was at the store. 

Working faster than he had for any hacking job, he tracked down her phone-- no signal, for it was off or dead. The last movements showed that she was, in fact, at the store... 5 hours ago.

Now Seven was worried.

He quickly hacked into the security camera footage, pulling up everything from 10 AM onward. He saw MC go inside, and then, about 40 minutes later, emerge with multiple bags of groceries. She looked like she was walking, as she normally did when she came to his house, lest he come and pick her up. 

She looked fine there.

He continued on down the street, picking up the footage from each building he could. She just walked, albeit rather slow, for she was weighed down with her groceries. 

"Then where is she?" He muttered to himself. He got his answer a few minutes later, only a block away from his house, when a black car pulled up next to her and drove slowly. She ignored it, just as he was sure she was taught, but her demeanor changed considerably. Her breath caught, her eyes widened, her posture went rigid. 

The camera angled away from it, but it seemed as though one of the windows was rolled down, talking to her. She continued to ignore it. 

Seven's breath caught as the car stopped and a man dressed in a black suit appeared, walking by her side and gesturing madly with his hands. She walked forward, muttering something that looked like "Leave me alone." (Seven was a good lip-reader, it was too bad the man had his back to the street camera). 

The man didn't like that.

He grabbed her, then, forcing her to drop her groceries and shoving her roughly into the car.

It drove off, leaving Seven a perfect glance at the license plate number.

"Oh my god, oh my god," he said to himself, committing it to memory and inputting it into the database he had. The car belonged to a man he had never heard of, Hyun Song. A few extra moments of research showed Seven that he ran a very succesful company, one called Vera. 

The internet claimed it was the only company that would ever rival C&R. 

Oh no.

"Jumin Han!" Seven yelled into the phone, having serious deja vu to the first time MC was in danger. 

"Luciel, I don't have time for this right now," Jumin said annoyedly. 

"Listen, MC is in danger. What do you know about a company called Vera?" Seven demanded. "I don't care if you don't have time for this. Answer me."

"MC is in danger?" Jumin gasped, considerably less annoyed. "What happened?"

"Answer the question!" Seven roared. 

"Vera... they're a company similar to us, run by that horrible Song man. They wanted to do many deals with us but never succeeded, and from what I can tell, seem as if their goal is to overtake us as the leading company in the nation," Jumin said. "What do they have to do with this?"

"MC was kidnapped, shoved into a car. The license plate matches one car owned by 'the Song man' as you put it. My guess is they took her to get to you." Seven felt so frustrated with himself. He should have protected her or lent him one of his cars so she didn't have to walk everywhere. 

"What?" Jumin mumbled, sounding absolutely flabbergasted. 

"Yes. You heard me," Seven replied. "She was supposed to come by my place a few hours ago, but she never came, so I got worried. I checked the security cam footage... I'll send it over to you. I'm going to try and figure out where they've taken her and then I'm going to get her."

"Nonsense. I'm contacting the authorities," Jumin said. "I see no reason to have you go."

"Jumin..." Seven trailed off. "How will you explain how you know where she was taken, though? You can't exactly tell them about me. I don't think they will appreciate me hacking into the security cameras and tracking down a license plate number."

"Then I will simply tell them my ex-fiancee is missing and I have an idea of where she went," Jumin said curtly. 

"It takes them days to figure out where she was taken. And a missing person isn't described as truly missing for 24 hours." Seven cleared his throat. "I know they say to report it as soon as you have a suspicion, but they don't take it that seriously until then. If we want her back soon I'm our best bet, with some help from C&R? And then we can report it to the police when we're done."

"How do we report it when we're done?" Jumin asked. "I want her back and safe as soon as possible, just like you, but I want it to be done as unsuspiciously as possible."

"I'll let you know afterwards, okay?" Seven said, rubbing his temple with his free hand. "Please, Jumin. I'm begging you to let me handle this."

"I'm trusting you only because of how much I care for MC. Even if she hates me, I still love her... I want her to be safe." Jumin sounded very conflicted. "Don't tell the rest of the RFA, except for Jaehee. I don't want any of them to be worried."

"Don't you think we keep enough secrets from them? They deserve to know," Seven pressed. "I'll tell Jaehee whatever I need, but I really think we need to tell everyone else. They'll find out eventually, either from us for from her when we get her back."

"Very well. If we must tell them, I think it should come from you," Jumin replied. "They're already feeling betrayed enough by me."

"I understand. I'll put out a short message explaining the situation and then get back to my research. Have Jaehee start preparing a hostage-rescue team for me, but also an investigative one. We can use the investigation one to tell the cops later, say it was a business investigation or something and they just happened to find your kidnapped ex-fiancee there." Seven said, balancing his phone between his ear and shoulder and typing away, trying to figure out where the car had stopped. 

"I will trust you, Luciel," Jumin said. "Please. Bring her back safe."

"I will," Seven said. 

Jumin hung up. 

707 has entered the chatroom. 

707: Good... no one's here.

707: I have another annoucement.

707: MC is in danger. she was supposed to come by my house earlier but never showed up, so i checked all the local security cameras.

707: she was walking back when a car showed up and shoved her in. her phone is off so i don't know where she went, but i did see the license plate.

707: The car belongs 2 a Hyun Song, CEO of Vera, C&R's biggest rival company.

707: so.... i dont have proof yet, but i think its pretty obvious what happened 

707: Jumin says that Vera's trying to overtake him, so it makes sense that they would kidnap MC, since she lived with Jumin for 3 months and is obviously pretty important to him even still

707: im doing everything i can... dw, i will get her back safe

707: but i needed to tell everyone.

707: before you ask: NO you cant help

707: this is too dangerous and stuff..........

707: just keep her in your thoughts for now. i promise she'll be safe.

707: byebye

707 has left the chatroom.

Seven then spent the next hour scanning through footage, following the car through the streets of the city until it finally reached a stop at the Vera headquarters building. From there, he hacked into their security system, watching as they carried her unconcious body through the building until they entered the elevator. All footage came back empty, so he decided that they had stuck her in a lower level floor where there was no cameras.

From there, he found a floorplan of the building to confirm his suspicions-- sure enough, there was a basement described in the first blueprints, purpose unclear. 

Seven then began to hatch his plan. First, he looked into the security guards schedules-- the time when they were least active was at 3 AM until 6 AM, with 100 guards instead of 150.

He looked over the building once more, compiling together the perfect entering and exit plan. He would sneak in through a second floor window, where it would be the darkest possible and most void of cameras, which he would hack into and replace the footage with anyways. He was already recording some to play on loop after. 

He would sneak in at 4 AM, when the least-experienced guards were in charge of the basement. He would dress as a security guard himself-- they just wore all black, with a laminated scanner that he easily replicated-- and follow guards whenever they went into the elevator, in the meantime gathering as much information as he could. 

From there he would go into the basement, find MC, and then bring her to the first floor, where Jumin's people would be waiting as international businessmen, just getting in from their flight and seeking Mr. Song. While they caused a scene, Seven would sneak out with the (hopefully concious) MC and take her to his car, where he would drive her to his house or the hospital, depending on her condition.

Seven had the perfect story to tell the cops, then-- Jumin's people were there to seek a business deal when they heard screaming and crying coming from below their feet. Seven would cut the sound from the security tapes so that there was no denying it.

Next, they would investigate, sending in Seven, who opened up his black security jacket to reveal a business suit. He would reveal at just the right time with a crying MC, who would tearfully explain to them exactly what happened. Jumin would then call the police and present them with the evidence.

It fully relied on Seven and how well he executed the plan, for if not, it would certainly raise a ton of questions. Seven wasn't worried about him, but his plan wasn't as airtight as he would want it to be, considering he had come up with it in the span of 2 hours. But it had to go right. He had to get MC out of there.

Song had some nerve stealing her away like that. To his defense, he probably didn't know she was heading to the top hacker in the entire world's house. He probably thought she was just walking home. Damn idiot.

"Jumin, is everything ready?" He asked the CEO, on speaker-phone as Seven got dressed. He threw on a black wig to hide his red hair and swapped out his glasses for a plain pair. He looked like an average security guard.

"Yes, everything is in motion. My team is in place two blocks away, ready to appear whenever you give them the signal," Jumin said calmly. "Have you managed to get eyes on her yet?"

"No, but I know she's in the basement," Seven said, hooking up an earpiece to himself and linking it back to the van Jumin's people were in. "Test, can you all hear me?"

"They can," Jumin said through the phone. "I suppose I should get going then. Let me know when you're in and when you have her."

"Will do, seeya," Seven said, hanging up the phone and sticking it in his pocket. He ran the necessary precautions-- setting up a dead man's switch should anything occur while he was gone that jeopardized his safety, relaying the Code Blue information to Jumin through text and then leaving his bunker. He climbed into his fastest car and made his way to the Vera building, which was a fun hour away.

It was 2:30 AM. He was right on time. 

He turned on the radio but then turned it off immediately. It reminded him of MC. 

He took the same car the night he went to rescue her from Rika's apartment a month ago, and hadn't touched it since. Now the situation was the same, except now she was in real danger...

His poor MC. She didn't deserve any of this. 

If she would have kept with him, stayed in his bunker, none of this would have ever happened. He could have protected her. He should have given her a car or something so she didn't have to walk to his house. It was so rude of him to ask her to come over, carrying heavy bags, too. 

He drove even faster when he thought about how she must be feeling. She thought she was done with Jumin-- she had been for a month. Were they hurting her? Questioning her? In most hostage situations, they sought information... they could be torturing her for it. The thought made Seven's blood boil. He drove as fast as he possibly could.

He made it to the Vera building at 2:59 AM. 

He parked his car, which was.. unreasonably flashy, now that he thought about it. From there, he sprinted the two blocks to the building and scaled it in exactly the spot he wanted, sure that the cameras were showing looped footage from 1 AM. When he made it into the window, he rolled to the side, popping up and coolly walking out the office he had landed in's door. 

"Hey," he said to another guard, who was standing next to the elevator. "3 AM. Time to switch shifts."

"Ah, you're right," the guard said. "Are you here next?"

"No, I'm down," Seven said, pointing to the ground. "You?"

"Ah, guarding the girl? Me too. Come on, we can walk together," the (rather stupid) guard replied, punching in the down button to the elevator. "D'you know what the boss wants with her, anyways?"

"I was hoping you would know," Seven replied curtly, trying to mirror how Jumin talked. "Do you know at least what they're doing to her? Is she being hurt or something?"

"Dunno. I know they had to knock 'er out to get here, but I don't know what they're doing to 'er now," The guard said. The elevator stopped on floor one, letting in a few other guys. 

"Going up?" They mumbled. Seven shook his head and they disappeared, but the other guard stopped him. 

"We're going down to guard the girl. Do you know what they want with her?" Seven was overjoyed at how blunt this other guard was. He was doing all his questioning for him.

"No, but if I did, I wouldn't share. And don't ask too many questions," a certain burly guard replied as the elevator doors closed. 

Soon, they were in the basement floor. Seven followed after the other guy, as he seemed to know where to go.

"Hey, we're here to take over guarding the girl," Seven's new friend said to two other guards standing in front of a door. Just two, easy.

"You sure? I thought just one of you was replacing us," the left guard said, the bigger of the two. Seven cleared his throat.

"Nah, we are both here. Is all we have to do stand here and make sure nobody comes in?" Seven said flatly. The two other guards exchanged a glance, but nodded. 

"The only people allowed in are the boss and his assistant, plus anyone else with him. If he's not here by 6, go in and give her a bottle of water. She'll ask you questions, but just ignore her, mk?" The same big guard said. Seven and his friend nodded.

"Sounds good," Seven said, moving over and standing in the same spot. The other two soon disappeared, and Seven coughed three times-- the secret code that told Jumin everything was going right to plan.

Seven glanced over to the other cop, who was staring at him strangely. "Are you sure you work here? I've never seen you before," he said. "What's your name? How long have you worked here?"

"My name is Yoosung Kim," Seven replied coolly. "And only a few weeks. This is the first time I've been assigned the night shift."

"Can I see your I.D.?" The other guard asked. 

"Sure," Seven said, digging the lanyard out of his pocket. Right as he handed it over to the guard, his fist collided with his head as he glanced down. He crumpled to the floor, knocked out cold.

Seven quickly unbolted the door, rushing inside. "MC?" He called out.

The room was big and cold, the only light being from a lamp hanging overhead. There was a table, a small mattress, and a few chairs set up in the corner. In the other, a small, scared looking girl was sitting curled against the wall, a chain connecting the wall to her ankle. 

"MC?" He whispered, creeping closer. She turned, eyes wide with fear. There was a large cut on the side of her face, a bruise underneath the opposite eye that was already showing to be purple. 

"MC, it's Seven," he hissed, crouching down to the chain around her wrist and working his way to unlock it. 

"S-Seven?" She whispered back. "They're going to find you and hurt you! They come in every hour, they'll be here any second!"

"MC, it's 3 AM. I knocked out the other guard. It's just me. Jumin has a team waiting in the lobby. It's okay," he assured her, finally jimmying the lock and freeing her. "Can you walk?"

"My a-ankle," she mumbled, pointing to the one that wasn't chained up. It was swollen and angry, obviously sprained. "I can just limp. I'm sorry. I'm a horrible hostage."

"No, no, come on, I'll carry you," Seven said, lifting her up. "Is any of your stuff here? Your phone?"

"It's on the table over there. They used it to get Jumin's number and then turned it off so I couldn't contact anyone or be tracked," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck as he lifted her, careful not to hurt her ankle. 

"So it is about Jumin..." Seven mused, sneaking back to the door. "Oh, I almost forgot. MC, can you unbutton my jacket?"

"Uhhh, sure," she said, reaching out and fumbling with the buttons as he looked around the corner, making sure the other guard was still knocked out. 

"Jumin," he hissed. "I know you can hear me. I have MC and I'm coming into the lobby."

"Affirmative," Jumin clipped back in Seven's ear. "Plan is underway."

Seven, now with his jacket unbuttoned to reveal a smart suit, shook off his Security guard cap, leaving him with just the wig. He hurried over to the elevator, pressing 'up' and praying nobody was there. It would be easy to fight them regularly, but the MC gathered in his arms would prove it difficult to punch someone. 

"You look silly with black hair," MC mused as the elevator doors opened, revealing a very empty elevator. Seven breathed a huge sigh of relief. 

When they reached the lobby, Seven wished he could suck the breath right back into his lungs. 

The team of Jumin's people was nowhere to be found. Instead, there were several confused looking guards, sitting at each exit. "Oh, shit," Seven mumbled to himself as they all turned to look at him.

"They're making a break for it with the girl!" One of them roared. Seven sprinted out of the elevator as best he could, MC weighing him down as he ducked and moved out of the way of the many security guards. 

"Seven," MC said as he narrowly avoided being shot. Where did the gun come from? And why were they shooting him in such a closed space? "Seven!"

"Not the time, MC," he hissed, ducking and finally making it to the door. He struggled with the lock, MC's eyes widening as multiple men approached the two. 

"Just leave me," she said. "They won't hurt me. They need me. You're going to get caught and they'll hurt you--!" She was wrestled out of his arms and dragged away.

Seven panicked. He couldn't go back to her, there were too many people, all advancing to him too quickly. He finally made a decision, taking what MC said seriously and elbowing the glass door shut. It shattered, allowing him to leave. He sprinted down the two blocks to where his car was, climbing inside it and speeding down the streets until he reached a hotel, pulling into the brightly lit parking lot where nobody smart would attack him.

"Jumin, what the hell?" He yelled into his earpiece. "What went wrong? Why didn't you say anything?"

Jumin didn't respond, the only sound coming back static. Seven ripped it out of his ear, throwing it onto the floor of the car and calling Jumin through his phone.

"What happened?" He barked into it as Jumin picked up on the last ring. "I don't have her. Why wasn't there any warning? Where were your guys?"

"Luciel, please calm down, what happened was out of my control. I tried to reach you, but-"

"What happened?"

"I sent my team to the front door, where they were intercepted by a guard. He insisted that although the building was usually 24 hours, there was an important matter and no visitors were being let in until 8 AM that morning. He sent them away, despite their protests." Jumin took a deep breath. "They came back to the Van as soon as they could, and I really tried, Luciel, to contact you, but it seemed whatever I said didn't reach you. I could only hear you. Someone had interfered with the line, according to our intelligence agent."

"Are you in the van?" Seven asked. "Give me your location through the RFA messenger and I'm coming over to investigate. They still have MC and I'm sure they're upset with her so I'm worried about how it's going to go. We need to get her out as soon as possible."

"How about we wait until 8 AM and use the same plan?" Jumin asked. Seven checked his car clock-- 4 AM. 

"I'm not waiting 4 hours. Send me your location and I'll be right over to discuss this further." Seven said, pulling out of the hotel parking lot. 

"Wait, Luciel-" Jumin said just before Seven hung up. 

"What?"

"Was she... okay?" Jumin asked carefully. 

"She had a bruise underneath her eye, a gash on the side of her face and a sprained ankle. Her outfit was dirty and torn and I'm not sure if they fed her at all," Seven said. "Is that what you were hoping for?"

"I'm sorry, but why are you taking this out on me?" Jumin sputtered. "I had nothing to do with this."

"It's because of you that she was kidnapped in the first place!" Seven practically roared into his phone. "It's because of you and your stupid business that she was taken!"

"I did not ask for her to be kidnapped!" Jumin yelled back. "I never thought something like this would happen. Please don't blame me for this, I'm just as upset as you are."

"If she gets hurt, I will never forgive you, do you understand that?" Seven hissed. "Location. Now. I'm hanging up."

Seven angrily pressed the end call button, casting his phone aside before realizing he needed the location. Seven opened the messenger, ignoring Zen's 100 missed texts and going to Jumin's street. He spotted it immediately, parking his car behind it and storming over to the door. Jumin let him in immediately.

Seven pushed him aside, ignoring his questions and turning to his computer. The intelligence agent Jumin had hired looked just as scared as MC had only an hour before. "H-hi, I'm-"

"I don't care," Seven said harshly. "Show me why you think someone interfered with the output."

The scared looking man nodded, turning to the computer and inputting a few commands. "First of all, it's an honor to meet you. You're a legend in the hacking world. Second..." he pointed to one particular signal. "This IP doesn't match up with the one you were outputting, so it looks like somebody got ahold of our feed and put static over everything we were saying."

"You're saying someone just inputted a simple sound over your output and you didn't even notice until afterwards? Were you not watching it?" Seven fumed. "Didn't you notice the foreign IP?"

"No, we were watching the security cameras like you told us?" The intelligence guy said, phrasing it like a question when in reality it was a statement-- he seemed so terrified of Seven.

"Listen, kid-"

"I'm not a kid! I'm 25," he responded. Seven shook his head.

"Whatever. I don't care. This isn't your fault, and I'm sorry for being so upset, but I can't believe you would fail to notice something like this!" He turned to Jumin. "Do you have any other plans, Mr. CEO-in-line?"

"Have you updated the RFA?" Jumin responded. Seven rolled his eyes.

"Plans, Jumin. Plans!"

"Fine... how about we tell the authorities that we have proof our friend is missing and in the hands of a business rival with a clear motive. I can use my influence to get them to move along and pull some strings to get you involved in the rescue team if you need to," Jumin said. "The only problem is it will take about an hour to get everything orchestrated."

"I'm not entirely on board, but it's all we have. Anything I can help with?" Seven muttered. "Why didn't you say this before?"

"I didn't know how serious it was," Jumin said honestly. "I thought you would have no issue. Clearly, it was us who I did not account for."

He nodded, turning away from Seven and the intelligence guy. "I'll see the both of you soon. I'm going to the driver's seat to make a few calls. Seven, if you could contact Jaehee and inform her of what's happening-"

"Sure," Seven said, pulling out his phone and already punching in Jaehee's number.

As he filled the frantic assistant in, the intelligence guy eyed him warily. When Seven was finished, he glared back.

"What?"

"You're so cool," he said. "Most people call me Neurosis. It's my hacker name, y'know?"

"707," Seven responded. "If you hear Jumin call me Luciel it's because he thinks Agent names are stupid."

"That's such a cool name," Nerdrosis replied. "I really want to be as good as you. Where did you learn?"

"Listen up, 25 year old kid," Seven said, scowling. "Now is not the time for introductions. I don't care how cool you think I am, my best friend is in danger right now and is hurt. She needs medical attention and is probably terrified out of her mind. She's locked in a basement with no security footage so we can't monitor her. Right now, I don't have time to be talking to you about where I learned hacking or my name or any of that. My mind is focused on her and her only."

"Is she your girlfriend?" Neurotic asked. 

"No."

"But do you want her to be?" He pressed, leaning in close as Seven typed away, desperately trying to hack onto the frequency of the security guards' walkie-talkies. 

"I'm not talking about this with you," Seven responded angrily. "Please, either make yourself useful or leave."

"Fine, fine, what can I do?" He asked Seven. "But first... that wasn't a no. Don't worry, I won't tell her ex."

"What you can do right now is shut your mouth before I hurt you," Seven said calmly. He pointed to the other monitor. "I need you to watch the security feed for Song's parking garage. When he comes into the building, I need to know. Got it?"

"Got it," Neurochemical said, staring at the screen intently.

Seven continued to hack, finally reaching a hold of it and plugging in his headphones. 

"You increased the guards, no?" A harsh voice said into Seven's ear. 

"Three in the room, two outside it at the door and four around the elevator, one in it. There's no way anyone is coming back and grabbing her," another one responded.

"Great. How'd that guy get in, anyways?" The first guy said.

"Stupid Kim let him in and he weasled his way into her room. She seemed to know him... what did she call him? Eight?" 

"Some number. I don't know. But clearly it was her orchestration, so boss isn't happy."

Seven's breath caught.

"She still isn't talking about Han's upcoming deals or about the security of the building, so he's moving onto Plan Niagra," One of the guards said. "He's coming in a few hours to finish things up. Soon, we'll make a ransom video and send it out, we just have to be careful. We can't catch any police attention."

"A ransom video? Are they crazy?" Seven muttered to himself. Neuropsychiatrist turned his head, raising an eyebrow. Seven pointed back angrily to the monitor. 

"He's not going to know who it's from, he'll just see his ex looking scared and pay up. That's all." 

"I mean... it's his ex. Do you think he still cares?" A completely new voice broke in. "I know he said he still loves her and stuff, but do you think he means it?"

"According to that other employee we took, he never shuts up about her," the first guy replied. 

Seven could hardly believe his ears. They had taken more people? How had he not heard about this before? 

Jumin appeared back in the van as the guards' conversation dissapated. "Everything is in order," he said calmly. "The local police force has prepared a hostage-rescue team that will be ready in two hour's time. They have agreed to let you join the team and will not ask any questions about how we know she is there or about your job or identity."

"Two hours?" Seven yelled, causing the business man and the other agent to jump. "I thought you said it would only take an hour to get everything together?"

"I said an hour to get everything orchestrated. That was on my behalf, and frankly, I made good time. It's only 4:45 AM now-- they'll be ready to launch it at about 6:30." Jumin put his hands in the air. "I did all I could to get it over with as soon as possible-- they just don't have the right resources to launch a completely ready team right now."

"What are we supposed to do until then?" Seven demanded. "I've been listening to their walkie-talkie feed. They plan on making a ransom video to send to you. And, get this-- the reason they took her is because apparently another one of your employees was kidnapped and said all you did was talk about her."

"I talk about things other than my ex-Fiancee," Jumin said, sounding offended. "But I wasn't aware another one of my employees was taken. Did you contact Jaehee to ask who?"

"No, I was going to have this guy try and check your employees' absences while I kept my eye out for the video," Seven replied, jerking his thumb over to Neurotoxin, who looked thrilled to be included. "But maybe she'd already know."

"I will contact her. Mr. Jin-"

"Neurosis!" 

"Fine, that- please help Seven however you can. I'm going to ask the driver to move us a few blocks closer to the building, should anything else go wrong." Jumin grimaced to himself. "Seven?"

"Hm?"

"Get her back safe," Jumin said earnestly. "Not for me. For her."

"Got it," Seven murmured back. There was no doubt in his mind that he needed to get her back-- for her, yes, but a tiny part of it for himself. He wouldn't be able to live if something horrible happened to her.

\---

About an hour after Seven first began monitoring Jumin's personal servers, an email created from a 10 minute emailing site appeared in his inbox with only a link to the video.

"Hey, Jumin," Seven called out, not exactly sure where the CEO-in-line was. "The ransom video's up."

Jumin came in through the side door, stopping the conversation he was having with a police chief. "Oh, dear."

He shoved the other intelligence agent aside, who was snoozing on a chair opposite Seven. Pushed onto the floor, he woke up, sputtering. Jumin sent him outside as the video began to play.

It opened to a scared, dirty looking MC sitting bound to a chair. She was in the same musty room as before; Seven could tell from the walls and the dim lighting. It casted an eerie shadow around her, framing her face and accentuating the bruise and cut Seven already knew were there. Her lip was now busted, and there was a gash on her shoulder now, ripped clean through the fabric, which was rather stained with blood and dirt now. She looked pitiful. 

"My name is M-MC," she stuttered out, eyes frantically scanning the room. Seven could imagine there were men behind the camera, holding up signs and such for her to say. "As you can see, I am very m-much alive. There are a f-f-few demands that my captors, who have w-wished to remain anonymous, have for Mr. Jumin Han."

Seven snuck a glance to Jumin. He was normally pale, but at that moment, he was as white as a ghost. 

"First, they w-want 1 billion won sent to the bank a-account included in the email," she began. She froze, then, eyes wide as she read on. There was a loud booming sound from behind the camera, and MC flinched, swallowing and continuing. "They w-would also like a list of all business d-deals conducted in the C&R company for the l-last year, those released to the press and t-those done secretly, as well as those still in p-progress..."

"Why does Song want that?" Jumin breathed to himself, eyes not moving from the screen. Seven shurgged.

"L-lastly, they would like you to s-schedule a meeting with Mr. Hyun Song, CEO of V-V-" She flinched again, and Seven could only imagine what was happening that he couldn't see. "CEO of Vera. I w-would like to make it c-clear he is not involved in this in any way, my c-captors just believe in him and his business strategies."

"Real smooth, I would never suspect them," Seven muttered to Jumin. "Idiots. Doing all the work for us."

"If the demands are not m-met by 8 PM today, or if the p-police are contacted, I will be... I w-will be," She started to cry then, silent tears rolling down her face as her gaze fixated on the camera. Seven could see then how badly she was shaking-- she had never been this scared in her life, he was sure. Even under the threat of Rika's apartment, even when Jumin exhibited crazy tendencies, even when she nearly froze to death after discovering Jumin with the model, she had never seen this distraught. Seven's hands tightened into fists as the video drew to a close.

MC, now unable to finish the sentence, was interupted by a masked figure positioning himself behind her. "If our demands are not met by 8 PM by the end of the day, or any sort of authorities are contacted, or if we find out you are privately conspiring to save her--" he held up a pistol, pointing it against MC's temple. She went as pale as Jumin. "You get the idea."

"They wouldn't," Jumin said in disbelief as the video cut to black. "There's no way Song has that much nerve. MC is a national presence at this point, most if not all women who keep up with the tabloids and anyone who saw the news in the last three months would know who she is. If they killed her, there would be an investigation and the ties to Vera would be undeniable. They wouldn't kill her."

"Jumin, they seem pretty stupid," Seven said. "I agree. But that's exactly why they're so dangerous... they don't know what they're getting into."

"Forward that email to these men," Jumin said, pulling out his phone and pointing to a screen filled with important looking contacts. "They are currently heading the investigation and getting the team together. They told me to send the ransom video you spoke about as soon as we got it."

"You got it," Seven replied, securely sending it to them and turning to look back at Jumin. "How much longer until we are making a break for it?"

Jumin checked his watch. "Half an hour," he said coolly. "I will be here with Agent Jin, monitoring you all. If you would like to speak to the leader of the operation, his contact is here," he pointed to one of the people on his phone. "I must go update my assistant and a few others. What are you going to do now?"

"I'm going to.."

"How about you eat something?" Neuropath suggested, appearing out of nowhere and jerking his thumb to a mini-fridge Seven hadn't noticed yet. "I know you're worried about your girl, but I haven't seen you eat anything all night. I'm sure you're hungry, and you need fuel if you're going to be joining in on a super cool spy mission."

"Fine, but she's not 'my' girl, and it's not a super cool mission. We are rescuing a friend from people who threatened to kill her." Jumin gave one last cold glance, ducking out of the claustrophobic van and back into the street to make some more calls.

"Do you think they'll kill her when they realize what's going on?" The other agent asked as Seven pulled out an apple and a can of Dr. Pepper. "I mean, they did say that they would if we tried to get her back."

"They wouldn't be so stupid," Seven replied curtly, pretending as though the thought hadn't already crossed his mind a thousand times. They would have to be fast and cut out all chances of communication between the guards, at least until Seven could make it to the room himself to protect MC. "But just in case, do you want to try and block all their means of communication? They won't be able to know we're there if the guards surrounding the building and such can't talk to them."

"Ooh, good idea!" Neutron exclaimed, wheeling his way back to the computer and eyeing Seven excitedly. "I think their only way of talking is with those walkie-talkies. So all we have to do is intercept their sound like they did ours, right?"

"Not exactly," Seven said, pointing to the IP's output. "It's much more securely protected than the line we were using was. It'll take more than an interception like that, we'll have to shut it down ourselves."

"We?" The man gasped. Seven nodded.

"You're annoying, but you're an agent and a hacker good enough to be hired by Jumin Han. We don't have a lot of time, so..."

"I understand!" Neurosis said. "Let's get started."

"Got it."

\---

Finally, it was time to commence with the operation.

It was the first time Seven had ever worked alongside an official organization like the police or any of that, and he found himself kind of nervous. His methods were generally to protect himself and whoever he was rescuing... working in a team or even with another agent to interrupt something as simple as a bunch of dumb security guards' signal just wasn't his style.

He set up the commands to end all methods they had of communicating, instructing Neuroidiot to put them in action as soon as he got the signal from the police chief (or Seven himself). If everything went to plan, and it would, Seven and the other people would flood into the main floor of the building all at once as soon as their communication was interrupted, knocking out and arresting everyone they could as quickly and silently as they could. Guns were being brought, but the goal was to have no casualties... they would see how that went.

While all that was going on, Seven would take a team of about 10 other people down the elevator and into where he knew MC was being held. They would get through the guards in the elevator and outside it, as well as the door, and then break into where she was. They would clear the room of all enemies and wait for the coast to be clear on the main floor. 

Once all was well and worked out, Seven would take MC outside the building to an ambulance that was waiting, where they would go to a hospital and treat her many wounds and injuries, whatever they were. They had to be quick, for there was still the threat that they would shoot her as soon as they learned of Seven and his team's presence. He could only hope they wouldn't be taking her to the hospital with a bullet lodged in her somewhere.

Once he was suited up in the most official garb he had ever had-- complete with a bulletproof vest and a gun at his hip, he joined the police commander outside the van. "I'm Luciel, I think Jumin told you about me?" He said cautiously. The man just nodded.

"You're clear on the plan?"

"Yes, sir. In fact, I helped come up with it," Seven replied, smiling but stopping as soon as he met the man's harsh eyes. "I mean, yes sir. Thank you for allowing me to be apart of it."

"I'm not going to ask questions, but if you get in my way or interfere in any way, I will be questioning you thoroughly," he barked. Seven just nodded.

"Yes, sir." Even if he was quitting the agency soon anyways, he would in no way be okay with leaking any info about them. They would come and find him and 'take care of him,' as Vanderwood liked to put it. 

The commander nodded seriously, branching off to go discuss something with another group of bulletproof-vested individuals. As soon as the hour hand moved to the 6 on his expensive watch, he gave one curt nod that everyone understood. It was time to go. 

A few men went on foot, sprinting from every angle they could. The van had moved to be only one block away, so it was not that far, but Seven still accompanied a group of people within it, climbing out as soon as they were in front of the large Vera building. "Go!" He heard, and then all of a sudden the entrance was stormed. 

"Now, Jin!" He said to himself, hoping the mic he had stored in his glasses-- no longer the boring framed ones he had used for his disguise-- picked it up and sent it to Neurosis boy. 

Men and women dressed in black stormed the building, knocking out any guard they came in contact with and hand-cuffing them. Seven looked around as he made his way through the chaos to the elevator, followed by a number of other specially-assigned men and women who were told to look out for the boy with cherry red hair. He pressed the down button and waited.

"They're going to be some guards in the elevator," he said to them, raising his voice over the sound of the madness around them. "They probably don't know we're coming, but be careful either way."

"Got it," one woman replied. She was pretty, and gave Seven a tiny wink. "Thanks for letting us work with you, spy."

Seven rolled his eyes, not answering. The elevator doors opened, revealing two scrawny men. When they saw the angry crowd of people bursting to get inside of it, their eyes widened and hands went up in the air. "Don't hurt us!" One of them begged, already trying to edge around them. 

Seven nodded to one of the other men, who took the two guards who had sacrificed themselves by the wrists and dragged them off somewhere safe. 

The hacker and his team climbed into the elevator, Seven pressing the down button once more and continuing his brief synopsis of what he expected to happen. "We did our best to cut out communication, and I haven't heard any gunshots yet, so so far so good," he started, trying to make eye contact with as many people as he could. "They still might be expecting us, so we have to be fast. There'll be men outside the elevator and around a door. If we can get rid of them as quick and as silently as possible, whoever isn't busy can come in with me to rescue her."

He could only hope there were no questions, for the doors opened then. A quick glance around told Seven there were 3 men outside her door and two outside the elevator. He smiled to himself. 

The two guarding the elevator immediately perked up, yelling something incomprehensible to the other two men outside MC's door. They were quickly smothered by two of the agents Seven had brought with him, but it was too late-- the other three were alerted.

"I got them! Come on," the woman who winked at Seven yelled, waving her hand and pinning the smallest guard against the wall. The two others were handled by three other people, leaving Seven with only one spare guy to enter the room with. He could only hope they hadn't been too loud, or that it would be empty on the inside.

"Let's go," he said to him, pushing through the door. "MC!" He yelled, looking around. The room was completely dark, the only light coming in from the other room where fighting was still taking place. "MC?"

"S-Seven..." He heard her groan from somewhere. He looked around frantically, pulling out his gun from the holster and aiming it in nowhere in particular. 

Just then, the door slammed closed behind him and the dim light from before went on. MC was sitting in the same chair as the one in the ransom video, looking dazed and terrified. Behind her was the man who had threatened her with the gun, mask still pulled over his face. The pistol rested against the side of her head.

"Seven!" MC said, eyes brightening if only for a moment. The masked man's eyes-- the only part of his face exposed-- narrowed. 

"Shut up," he commanded, punching her square in the chest from around the chair. She cried out, shoulders hunching over herself protectively. "Hi there, Agent boy. You're the same one as before, huh?"

"Let her go," Seven said, gun pointed to his face. The other agent was suspiciously nowhere to be found.

"And why would I do that? You shoot that, I shoot her. Either you drop the gun and leave or I shoot you and then take her somewhere you'll never find her."

"You wouldn't be dumb enough to shoot her," Seven said calmly, trying to mask his now frantic interior. "She is a nationally known presence due to her prior relationship with a famed businessman. If you had her and my blood on your hands, you and your organization would be locked up for life."

The masked man hesitated, slowly removing the fun from her temple. Seven took this as his opportunity, running and charging at him. He ran around MC's chair, tackling him to the ground and wrestling his gun out of his hands, tossing it aside. 

With Seven now straddling the man, he ripped off the mask and punched him square in the forehead, knocking him out cold. "MC, is he the only one?" He yelled frantically, turning around to see yet another man. He had his hands around MC's mouth, silencing her. The light was behind him, so Seven couldn't see his face. 

"Another one?" Seven asked, raising his handgun to the man's chest. "I don't want to shoot you, bro. Leave her be and I'll forget you ever were here if you run along and turn yourself in."

"Not a chance," he grunted. "You drop the gun or I strangle her."

"Can you stop with the death threats?" Seven said. "I have a gun, you don't. Give it up."

"3...2..."

He then pulled his hands away from her. "The bitch bit me!" He roared, reaching out to strike her. Seven caught his hand, however, leaping and tackling him to the floor like the other man. 

"Will you be as easy to knock out as the other guy?" Seven asked, trying to punch him in the face, too. He rolled his head to the side, causing Seven to instead punch the concrete floor, hard. He wailed in pain.

The man then reached out to grab Seven by the arm, but the hacker saw it coming from a mile away. He wrenched his arm to the side, using his free one to punch him in the nose. It began to spew blood, but the man was still very much fighting back.

"Seven, you can do it!" He heard MC cry from her chair a few yards away. 

The bleeding man now reached out to claw Seven's face with his nails, but he swatted them away easily. With MC's encouragement, Seven found the strength (and the stomach) to punch him once more, feeling his body go limp under him. Finally.

"MC, I'm going to turn around now and there better not be another man with his hands around your neck," Seven called out, climbing off the man (whose nose was still bleeding profusely) and turning around slowly. MC, in her battered state, sat alone in the chair, beaming at him. 

Seven quickly ran over to her, untying her hands, knees, and waist and gathering her into his arms in a gentle, yet crushing hug. "We're going to get you out of here for real," Seven whispered into her hair. Her arms wrapped around his neck, her legs twisted around his waist. He was basically carrying her at this point, one arm underneath her and another wrapped around her. But he didn't care. 

"Promise?" She whispered, clutching him tighter.

"I promise. And then how about you stay with me for a little? Just in case?" Seven offered quietly, the thought of her being alone in her un-secured apartment with no car and a job three blocks away making his heart pound.

"We'll see," MC breathed back.

"Hey, Jumin?" Seven said, setting MC back down onto the chair and speaking into his mic. "I got her. Is the coast clear in the lobby?"

"All good, but we don't have eyes in the elevator," Jumin's sharp voice said in his ear. "I'd say it's harmless to leave now. The ambulance is ready."

"Alright. There are two guys in the room down here, I don't know if there are any in the room outside that haven't been taken care of..." He trailed off as one of the unconcious guards stirred. "MC and I are leaving now."

"Still can't walk?" He asked, turning back to the brown haired girl. She shook her head sadly.

"Still swollen," she said, pointing to her ankle. Seven nodded, scooping her up princess-style once more and leaving the dark and dingy room, hopefully once and for all. 

The elevator was empty when they reached it, much to Seven's relief once again. His last rescue mission seemed like days, rather than mere hours, in the past. 

"You sure do carry me a lot, don't you?" MC mused as the doors slid open to show the lobby, empty except for a few policemen. 

"You just get in trouble a lot is all, and I have to come bail you out," Seven replied. "Would you stop that, by the way?"

"What, getting in trouble or needing your help?" MC joked as Seven ducked through the glass door he had broken earlier that night. The street was showing its first signs of life; the sun rising above the skyscrapers and cars and taxis whizzing by already. Seven hoped they hadn't called too much attention.

"Ambulance this way, is that the hostage?" The police chief from before questioned, coming up in front of Seven and nodding to MC. 

"Yeah. Do you need to question her?" Seven asked. 

"We can do that in a bit after she's had a bit of time to recover," he said curtly. "I'm sorry this happened to you, ma'am. I pray for your speedy recovery."

"It's really nothing too bad," MC called to him as he walked away. Seven's brows furrowed. 

"You seem perfectly fine for someone who just had a gun pointed against her head a few minutes ago," Seven commented. 

"Hey Seven, can I tell you something?" MC asked quickly as they approached the ambulance. Seven stopped walking, noticing how she ignored his previous comment.

"Huh?"

"I'mterrifiedofambulances," MC said rapidly. 

"You're scared of ambulances?"

MC gulped and nodded slightly.

"Why?"

"I'll tell you if you drive me to the hospital yourself," she said, still speaking quickly but not as rapidly and incomprehensibly as before. 

"Fine, but my car's about a block away," Seven said. "And I need to let the people in charge know. I'm sure the ambulance is already being used to treat some other injured people, so it shouldn't be too big of a deal..."

"Fine by me," MC replied.

"Hey, Jumin?" Seven said into his mic. "Can you let the people know I'm taking MC to the hospital myself?"

"Why?" Jumin asked in his ear.

"Because. Don't ask questions, I'll get her there safely," Seven replied. "Thanks!"

"I need an explanation-"

"Nope, bye!" Seven turned off the mic, stuffing it into his pocket. "Okay, come on then. What's another block for my ripped arms?"

He adjusted his grip on her slightly, shifting the hold he had around her waist the tiniest bit. She cried out in pain. "S-sorry, I guess I have a bruise there or something..."

"Or a broken rib?" He offered, grimacing. "I didn't want to cause a scene, but I guess I have to be fast..."

He then broke out in a sprint down the block, MC jostling in his arms. "Sseven!" She yelled. "Slow down!"

He reached his car in no time, setting her up carefully in the back seat and then climbing into the driver's seat. "If your rib is broken, you need medical attention as soon as possible," he said gently. 

"But we don't know that it's broken," she protested, trying to sit up but grimacing. Seven caught her reflection in the mirror and shook his head. 

"Broken or not, something's wrong." He turned to look at her, eyes filled with concern. She looked horrible. "You look horrible, by the way. I mean, your clothes and your hair and the dirt all over you and stuff. And the cuts and the-"

"I get it," MC said. "Being held hostage for almost 24 hours can do that to a person." Her voice seemed to be shaky still. 

"You never answered me, by the way. How are you so calm after that?"

"It hasn't set in yet..." she said, trailing off. "Honestly, before you came in, I was a shell of a person... I couldn't stop shaking, my voice didn't work. Have you ever tried to cry but nothing came out? That's how I felt... just, empty, I guess."

"What happened after I tried to get you the first time?" Seven asked gently, making eye contact with her through the mirror. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"I don't want to talk about it," she said, sounding hollow. "Just... I guess I seemed different. My hopes were raised and stuff after I saw you... even when they started to attack me, threaten me, so on... I just thought about you. Even when I was first taken, I wasn't worried for a second. I knew you would find me and rescue me."

"Of course I would. It would have been sooner, but..."

"You were resting. I know, I figured." She said, smiling. "Thank you, Seven. For saving my life. Again."

"No problem," he said awkwardly. "I'd save you again in a heartbeat. But please, try and stay out of trouble."

"Is my life going to be like this forever?" MC asked nervously, rather out of nowhere, too. "I used to date an important businessman and stuff. On TV shows and movies, those are always the people taken! And I'm defenseless and stupid and-"

"You're not stupid," Seven said harshly, cutting her off. "I mean.. sorry. You're not stupid. You're kind of dumb sometimes, sure, and a little naive, but that's because of how big your heart is. You trust people too easily and never expect the worst."

"You're right," she said. "So what happens when next year, another company wants some intel on C&R?"

"I can install a security system in your apartment," he offered bleakly. Even saying it just sounded stupid.

"You can't always be around to protect me," she mumbled. "I wish you could, though. Everything would be so much easier."

"What do you mean?" He asked, brows furrowed. She certainly wasn't saying what he was hoping, that's for sure.

"N-nevermind. How far away is the hospital?"

"5 minutes. 3 if I can speed."

"No speeding," she commanded. "Please."

"Fine. Why don't you call Zen?" He handed her his phone, which she already knew the 20 digit passcode to. "We'll get you a new one soon. For now, he's probably worried sick about you."

"Okay," she said, unlocking it and dialing the actor. While they chatted aimlessly, Seven continued to drive, her words repeating over and over in his mind.

I wish you could.

\---

"Two broken ribs and a sprained ankle, as well as some minor bruising and a possible concussion," Seven said into the phone, talking to Yoosung. He was sitting over MC as she slept in the hospital bed, wounds bandaged and cleaned. "She's been asleep for about an hour now."

Yoosung had read the messenger and called Seven over and over until the hacker finally texted him and told him to stop. As soon as MC's diagnosis and a light questioning from the police had ended, he immediately reached out to call him. 

"Broken ribs? Concussion?" Yoosung gasped. "What happened to her? What did they do to her there?"

"She hasn't said anything about that yet," Seven replied rather sadly, twirling a strand of her hair between his fingers as she slept. One of the nurses had came by and brushed it after her first round of questioning, so it was smooth and silky.

The few questions she had been asked only revealed things Seven and the police force already knew, such as when and where she was taken, and the motives her captors had. As far as what they did to her, what they said to her, who took part in it-- she either was avoiding it or didn't want to speak about it. 

"Maybe she's still in shock?" Yoosung suggested. "After Rika's death, I didn't want to talk for a long time."

"I wouldn't be surprised... she seemed oddly okay when I picked her up. I wouldn't be surprised if when she woke up it all set in." Seven hoped that it wasn't what was going to happen-- he would hate to see her that way. It would break his heart.

"Yeah. With Rika's death, it took me about a week to-"

"Oh, look, MC's waking up!" Seven lied, interrupting him. Leave it to Yoosung to talk about Rika in this situation. "Can you relay what I told you to the messenger now? I should probably hang up.

"Oh, yes! Of course!" Yoosung said, happy to help Seven, per usual. "Bye, Seven!"

"Bye," he responded, hanging up and turning back to the very much still sleeping MC. 

He traced the outline of her face with his thumb, lightly brushing over the bandaged cut she had gotten somehow.

What was he going to do with her? What was she going to do? The doctors had told her that with her broken ribs and ankle, she couldn't be working, so there went her coffee shop gig. She also was supposed to be under careful surveillance-- they still didn't know how she was going to handle the shock, and it would not be good for her to be alone. 

They were going to dump her with Jumin, as she used to live with him, but Seven had rejected vehemently. "Have you forgotten why she was in this situation in the first place?" He had said, perhaps a little too loudly, to the doctor. 

"She has no family, who else are we supposed to leave her with?" One of the nurses had asked. Seven bit his lip. 

The obvious answer was that she should stay with her best friend who lived in a highly secured bunker with a 5-layer security system to protect her from any and all other kidnappers, who cared deeply for her and would do anything to protect her. 

But he wasn't sure how MC would feel. Maybe she wanted to go back to Jumin's place. He had told the doctors to wait to arrange who she was staying with until she woke up and could decide for herself. Either way, she was supposed to stay in the hospital overnight, so they had plenty of time to decide. 

"MC, I hope you'll be alright when you wake up," he whispered to her sleeping frame. The chair he was sitting in was really comfortable, and looking at her, peacefully resting, he felt his eyes start to droop.

He fell asleep, his hand clutching hers.

\---

"Seven hasn't left her side. He drove her here and was there through the entire questioning process," Jumin's voice said, waking Seven up from his nap. He still pretended to be asleep, listening in.

"How sweet," a voice that sounded like Jaehee's said. 

"Right. Sweet," Jumin responded. "Are they holding hands?"

"It's a sign of endearment," Jaehee said. "Perhaps there is something going on between them?"

"So soon after my debacle? Doubtful." Jumin cleared his throat. "Alright, then, Jaehee. Let's go. I just wanted to see with my own two eyes that she was alright."

"Let me take a picture," Jaehee said. Seven heard the click of a phone camera, then the sound of high heels against the marble floor.

"Seven, I know you're awake," he then heard a few minutes later, the sound coming from a certain girl's raspy voice. "You can let go of my hand now."

"MC?" Seven said, his eyes flying open. "Did you hear all that, too?"

"No," she said, eyes narrowing and turning towards the door. "Did someone show up?"

"Jumin and Jaehee. I pretended I was asleep so they wouldn't bother me." Seven untangled his hand from hers, placing it awkwardly on the side of the hospital bed as MC sat up. Her eyes, despite the deep bags under them, were bright and shining as she looked at him. "How are you feeling?" He asked.

"I'm feeling... dazed, confused, a bit scared, my body hurts all over, but..." she looked at her hands, then back to him. "I'm glad you're here. I don't really know what's going on, but I know if you're here, I'm safe."

Seven's heart fluttered just then from the way she said it. "You're at a hospital right now after I rescued you from the basement of Vera about... actually I have no idea. What time is it?"

He pulled out his phone. 2 PM.

"About 8 hours ago? 7 hours? I don't know. You've been asleep for awhile," Seven said. "Are you feeling alright? Your ribs?"

"My ribs?" MC pressed a hand to her ribcage, wincing in pain. "Are they broken?"

"Yes.. two of them. I think from when that guy punched you when I showed up..." Seven said carefully, hoping he wasn't hurting her. She shook her head.

"No. That might have worsened it, but I think they were hurt the first time when..." her eyes glazed over and she shook her head. "I'm sorry, but do I have to talk a-about what they did? I'll answer any questions you and the police need, but I really don't-"

"That's fine," Seven said quickly. "We don't have to talk about it at all."

"How are you doing?" MC asked, sounding concerned. "Did you get hurt at all?"

"How can you worry about me when you're the one hooked up to an IV?" Seven responded, sounding bewildered. "But I'm fine. The doctors gave me a once-over and said I was alright."

There was a long pause as MC seemed to be inspecting him herself, her eyes trailing all over him. He felt her gaze boring through him, a blush coming to his cheeks. Finally, she looked satisfied and gave him a little nod of approval. "Thank you."

"For what?" He asked awkwardly. "Being alive and in one piece?"

"Well, yes," she said, laughing a little to herself. "But really, thank you. For worrying about me and rescuing me, taking me in your car when I was scared of the ambulance, staying with me... you're the best friend I could ever ask for. Thank you, Seven. Luciel."

"Luciel isn't my name," he said all of a sudden, without even thinking. "It's Saeyoung. But don't tell anyone."

"Saeyoung," she repeated to herself. "Saeyoung. Thank you, Saeyoung."

"You can still call me Seven, if you want," he said, now quite flustered and wondering why the hell he told her that. "I mean, whichever works..."

"What would you prefer?" she asked sincerely. "And you haven't said 'you're welcome' yet."

"I would prefer whatever you would prefer," Seven mumbled bashfully. "But it has been awhile since anyone called me Saeyoung..."

"Saeyoung it is," MC said, looking at him expectantly.

"You're welcome," he muttered. "How are you acting so calmly right now? You seemed terrified when I came to get you and in the ransom video."

MC didn't answer, just averted her gaze from his eyes and turned to look at the hospital wall. "That's a nice wall, isn't it?" 

"I need an answer, MC. Is there something you don't want me to know?" Seven-- did he need to start referring to himself as Saeyoung now?-- pressed, leaning in and grabbing her hand again. He stroked the palm of her hand with his thumb, trying to be calming.

"It's embarrassing," she mumbled.

"I told you my real name. You can tell me this," he continued on, trying to get the secret out of her as best he could. He had been trained in one interrogation course, and he may have been subconsciously using what he'd learned. 

"Fine." She bit her lip, pulling her hand away from his and still avoiding her gaze. "When you're around, I just feel really safe. Like I can forget about what happened. The same thing occurred after Jumin... you know. I don't know what it is, I just feel really calm around you." The words came out quick and uncertain like she was trying to phrase it a specific way.

"You shouldn't feel safe around me," Seven (Saeyoung?) responded, his voice unemotional yet his heartbeat increasing rapidly, his mind racing. "I'm a hacker who has enemies all over the globe. Multiple people have been hired to kill me."

"But I do feel safe around you. You just have such a beautiful presence, and you seem like you care for me and protect me and... I don't know. I just feel like everything's okay when you're nearby." She buried her face in her hands. "I'm sorry. This is embarassing."

Seven couldn't help but blush even more, the two of them the same color now. She was saying that he made her feel safe.

"I feel safe around you, too," he admitted after a moment of awkward silence. "Not like... if a man broke into this room right now-- which won't happen, don't worry-- you would leap up and fend him off with your bare hands. I mean, I feel like I can tell you anything and you would just look at me with your pretty eyes and make me feel really... okay. I can pretend everything's okay when I'm around you."

"But everything is okay when we're together," she insisted quietly, removing her red face from her hands and looking at him like she never had before. 

"You're right. I-I..."

"Ah, miss MC! You're awake," a chipper voice said, interrupting Seven's emotional speech and confession before it could occur, thankfully. It was Jumin's favorite doctor, paid in advance for MC's situation and guaranteed by the CEO-in-line to be the best. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel like I'm not a person," she responded. "How much medication am I on?"

"Just simple painkillers," he said. "Have you ever been to the hospital before?" He pulled out his clipboard, sitting down on one of those doctor wheely chairs that one never saw outside the hospital. MC bowed her head, unanswering.

"As a patient or just in general?" Seven asked. The doctor looked at him quizzically. 

"As a patient."

"Oh, then, she hasn't." Seven held out a hand for the doctor to shake. "Hi, I'm Luciel Choi. I'm MC's closest friend who happens to have seen her medical records while screening her for a job."

"Miss MC?" The doctor asked, confused. MC just nodded. 

"Alright. Next question..."

The doctor continued on with basic questions, drawing out a tiny bit of information about how she got the injuries (which he listed about three times). 

According to MC's quiet voice, her ankle was sprained when she was shoved into the car. Apparently, the door had closed on her foot as they pulled away, twisting it awkwardly and causing her to cry out in pain. The group of men who had kidnapped her told her to shut up and punched her in the side of the head, possibly giving her the bruise and her concussion.

The gash on the side of her head was from when she was first put in the room Seven found her in, when they shoved her against the wall and it hit a nail. This prompted a close inspection from the doctor to make sure it wasn't infected-- it was fine. 

Seven finally got his answer about her ribs after a bit of coaxing. When they were trying to get her to film the ransom video, they punched her in the chest whenever she stuttered or messed up the script. 

"That answers everything, then," the doctor said, setting down his pen and smiling warmly to the two. "Do you have any requests for who you will be released to?"

"What?" MC asked. Seven furrowed his brows.

"You can't be left alone for the next week or so," the doctor explained slowly. "We'd normally send you home to a family member, but it appears..."

"Seven?" MC asked quietly. 

"You can come with me. I'll take care of you," he said gently.

"Could I go with Luciel, then?" She asked the doctor, who looked between the two of them skeptically. 

"I suppose there is no other place I can send you... ah, well. Sounds perfect. We would like to keep you here until tomorrow morning, and then we can release you... there is a rehabilitation and medication plan that we have laid out for you, with multiple physical therapy sessions..."

The doctor explained everything MC and Seven needed to know about her recovery process, on a physical and psychological basis. It was supposed to go quickly and easily thanks to the massive sum of money Jumin had paid him (Seven inferred that last part), complete with multiple therapy sessions-- also on a physical and psychological basis, as she would be going to physical sessions and one-on-one talking time with a highly commended shrink. Seven could tell MC was absolutely ecstatic. (That was sarcasm.)

Finally, the doctor gave one final cheesy smile and left the two alone, telling MC that lunch would be brought to the two shortly and that there was a visitor waiting to see them. Seven and MC exchanged a confused glance.

About a minute later, a certain white haired actor had burst into the hospital room. 

"MC~!" He chortled, bustling to the opposite side of her hospital bed and plopping down on the couch. "This is such a roomy hospital room. You're so lucky!"

"Lucky?" She repeated. "I mean, hi, Zen. How are you today?"

"Maybe lucky isn't the right word, sorry," he mumbled, looking embarrassed. "I've been working all morning, but I've been thinking of you the whole day. I came as soon as I could. That dumb doctor wouldn't let me in until he was done blabbing."

"Hi, Zen, I'm here too," Seven said, waving from his chair. Zen nodded to him. 

"Hi. MC, are you hurt?"

"Yes."

"Are you in pain?"

"Also yes."

Zen frowned. "I'm so sorry. I can't believe this happened. That no good Jumin jerk-"

"Zen?" MC said quietly. "Can we talk about something other than my current situation?"

Seven saw for the first time then a glimpse of how she acted during the ransom video. The situation, as she put it, was really taking a toll on her, and he was sure she was done talking about it. 

"Oh, sure. Ummm.. Seven. Tell us a story," Zen suggested. "Or maybe.. can I braid your hair, MC?"

"How about Seven tells us a story?" She said quietly. Seven took once glance from her to the actor and narrowed his eyes. 

"Hey, Zen? Can I talk to you out in the hallway?"

"Course." Zen said casually, jumping to his feet and following Seven out to the empty hallway. MC stared after them, confused. 

"Listen, Zen..."

"Did I interrupt a moment? Were you going to tell her you loved her?" He asked expectantly, red eyes widening. 

"Keep your voice down, she might hear you!" Seven hissed. "No. I mean, kind of. I mean, maybe? But that's not the point here! The point is... MC is feeling very overwhelmed right now. She feels safe with me for some reason, and-"

"Aww, she likes you, too!" Zen exclaimed. Seven clamped a hand over his mouth as he continued.

"No, listen, Zen. And please refrain from yelling out." Seven narrowed his eyes at him. "She's feeling conflicted right now. The doctor just came in and talked to her for an hour without taking a breath about everything wrong in her life, then you come in and are just this ball of happiness and sunshine and rainbows. I think that overwhelmed is the best way to phrase how she's feeling right now."

"So you want me to..." Zen mumbled against Seven's hands. 

"I think you need to take a break?" Seven said, his uncertainty making it sound like a question. "I think that you should give her a break. From..."

"I understand," Zen said, his eyes softening as he took a step back from Seven. "You want some alone time with her."

"No, you don't understand," Seven said. "I mean, yes, I do. But not in the way you think."

"It's fine. I can leave you two alone," Zen hummed, smiling. "Just remember to be safe."

"Be safe?"

"Mmhm. We don't need any kids in the RFA..."

"Okay, let's go, Zen," Seven mumbled, pushing him out of the hallway and blushing madly. "Time to leave."

Zen just smirked in response.

\---

When Seven went back into the hospital room, MC was fast asleep, a pillow from the couch wrapped in her arms as she laid her head on it. It reminded Seven of the way the two had... cuddled... a month before, when she was staying in her apartment. 

He wondered what she thought of that. Did she even remember?

On the rare nights when Seven had no work to do and could lay in his bed to sleep, his mind always drifted to how empty it seemed without her. She had stayed with him for less than a week, but in that time, the bed had become hers. 

As he found himself watching her sleep for what felt like the millionth time, he allowed himself to wonder what would happen with the two of them. Clearly, there was something beyond a normal friendship between the two of them, but how to pursue it? Did it just sit there until years later, she was married with another man while he was still working filthy hacking jobs? Or did he do something about it?

Part of him still felt like it was too soon. The relationship she had with Jumin-- as short-lived as it was-- ended only a month ago. She was almost married.

How long was long enough? At what point would it be appropriate? Would it ever be?

Would Seven and MC be judged? Would people think that she was cheating on Jumin with Seven during their relationship? There was so much that could go wrong, so much that would be judged even outside the fact of his profession. It just would never work out. The RFA had almost collapsed over the end of one relationship, how would they react if another one ended, too? There were only 7 of them-- if two of them were MC's exes, would she still want to work there?

Doubts raced in his mind as he looked at her. He wanted to be with her desperately. He was madly in love with her. Her heart was so big, her eyes so wide and knowledgeable. Not even a minute after she woke up, she was wondering about how he was doing. She cared about him and admitted herself that he made her feel safe, and he had told her the same... she was the only person other than V who knew him as both Seven and as Saeyoung, and he trusted her indefinitely. She knew loads about his work and his agency but had never said a single word to anyone else about it.

On top of all that, she was attractive. Adorable. Cute. Perfect. Seven didn't care about looks, but there was no denying he was attracted to her-- to her face, yes, but also to her intelligence, her humor, her wit. Her sarcasm. The fact that she showed him genuine care and seemed to want to be with him. She was just... enamoring. He had never cared about anyone like this before. It was dangerous.

She stirred in her sleep, eyes fluttering open and finding his. "Seven?" She breathed, clutching the pillow closer to her chest as she stared up at him. "Where'd Zen go? How long was I asleep?"

"Zen had to go do something. And... maybe half an hour? I don't know. Time isn't real." He shrugged. "Want me to call for some food?"

"No... I just want to sleep," she yawned. "I ache all over."

"You haven't eaten in 24 hours," Seven offered lightly. "Please? You can eat some gross hospital soup and then sleep for as long as you want."

"I don't want gross hospital soup," MC grumbled, squeezing her eyes shut and laying her head down against the pillow forcefully, seemingly forgetting about her concussion. "Ow."

"Fine. We can use Jumin's tab and order something. What do you want?"

2 pepperoni pizzas and three bags of sushi were soon delivered to hospital room 32A, spread out at the foot of MC's hospital bed like a big buffet and split between the two. "Pizza and sushi, interesting combination," he commented as he dug into a tuna roll. "But I'm not complaining."

"I miss cooking," MC groaned, setting her piece of pizza down. "I want to get out of this hospital. Nothing's wrong with me."

"You told me about half an hour ago that your entire body ached and you wanted to sleep forever," Seven pointed out, shooting her a cheeky grin. "I think something is wrong."

"But my body is going to hurt regardless of where I am," she argued back. "If I was laying on your couch or in your bed I would still be in pain. Maybe slightly less, since this is really uncomfortable."

"If it's uncomfortable we can put in a request for a different bed." Seven couldn't believe she was arguing. "What is with you? Are you okay?"

"I just hate hospitals," she muttered. "I don't want to be here. It smells like death."

"Death?" Seven set down his tuna rolls beside her rejected pizza. "Do you mean the disinfectant and chloroform?"

"No. It just smells like death." She shrugged. "To me."

"Does this have to do with your fear of ambulances?" Seven asked, eyebrows narrowing. Was she feeling uncomfortable here? Perhaps it would be better to take her back to his place that night. God, that sounded perverted. Not like that. Stupid Zen.

"It might," she muttered.

"You promised you'd tell me."

"Did I? Maybe I was still in shock."

Seven rolled his eyes. "You were never in shock."

"I don't want to tell you." Her voice dropped to a whisper, something Seven had noticed she did when she didn't want to talk about something or was saying something she didn't particularly agree with. 

"You promised me. I told you my name." Seven gave her a gentle smile. "I can hold that against you for a while. I should have told you sooner."

"I'll tell you if you promise to never use that excuse again."

"Deal."

MC took a deep breath, rubbing her palms together nervously and avoiding his gaze. "The ambulance and hospitals.. the smell, the doctors, the IV, the stupid hospital gown that doesn't have a back. It all reminds me of when my parents died."

Oh, right, MC has a tragic backstory too. "Oh."

"I wasn't very old. But I remember it vividly." She shuddered. "There. I told you."

"Thank you for telling me," Seven said gently. "Do I need to tell you a tragic detail of my life now, too?"

MC picked up her pizza slice once more, shrugging. "If you want to. Unlike some people, I don't use the sharing of highly personal information to blackmail people into sharing other highly personal information."

Seven rolled his eyes. "Point taken."

But where to start? MC knew virtually nothing about his life.

"Should I tell you all of it?" He asked. "I mean, you already know my name. And I trust you. It's not as if it would hurt you any more than just hanging out with me would."

"I'll keep that in mind if my relationship with you ever gets me kidnapped," she mumbled quietly. "Tell me as much as you want. I'll listen."

And she did. 

As Seven shared every detail of his childhood with her-- the relationship between his parents, the tendencies of his mother. About his brother, about Rika and V. How he found the agency. It all came flowing out of his mouth at once.

He only really intended to tell her a few things-- like about his religion, or about how he met V. But it just came out. He felt like he could tell her anything and she would take it in, her amber eyes showing emotion and sympathy that he drank up like the cheap soda that came with the pizza. He had never had anyone pay attention to him like that, like he was the only one in the world who mattered. 

Seven found a new thing to love about her, something he didn't know was possible-- she listened. She took in every word, drinking it up. Not once did she interrupt him, only nodding or gasping when appropriate. By the time he was done, 45 minutes had flown by and he felt completely drained. He had told her his life story, the most intimate conversation he had ever shared with anyone. And she hadn't said a word.

"And... now I'm here. I've never been to a hospital before. I guess that ties into what you said that started this whole mess?" He said nervously, scratching the back of his neck and avoiding her expression. It was possible that she was scared, now, and never wanted to speak with him again. It was also possible that he would start crying any moment. It depended. He had never ouput such a large amount of raw emotion to anybody before. 

"MC?" He said nervously, looking to her. Just as he turned his head, however, he was tackled by a delicate hug. She wrapped her arms around his neck, stroking his hair.

"I wasn't expecting that when you told me you'd tell me a tragic detail of your life," she breathed. "I'm so sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" He said numbly, too scared to hug her back. Her ribs were broken, after all. That's what he told himself. 

In truth, he was embarrassed. He didn't expect such a reaction, and certainly not in a situation like this- on a hospital bed coated in take-out boxes and greasy pizza plates. 

"I'm sorry because you didn't share sooner," she said gently. "How long have you been keeping this inside?"

"How old am I again?" He said dryly, daring to reach around and hug her back, tangling his fingers in her hair. He loved her hair. Was it weird? Maybe. He loved her hair.

MC just chuckled lightly to herself, holding him tighter. "I like hugging you," she then commented. "Can I hug you more often?"

"I-if you want," he said nervously. "I like hugging you, too."

They just sat like that, on the hospital bed hugging like two idiots. Eventually, Seven felt her go limp and laughed-- of course she had fallen asleep. After all, she wanted to sleep before he kept her up with his stupid life story.

With her still in his arms, he carefully moved until the two were laying down. It was uncomfortable for him-- his back was pushed against the iron side bars of the hospital bed, his face uncomfortably stuffed in the top of her head. She smelled good, though, so it wasn't entirely a waste-- god, he was creepy. 

Eventually, he fell asleep, too.

Hopefully this time he wouldn't be woken up by Jumin and Jaehee.

\---

"Seven?" He woke up to instead. 

He rolled over, hitting his head against the iron bars and jolting awake, the MC beside him (who was very much asleep still) waking up with a start as well. 

"Oh, hi," he muttered, rubbing the spot on his head that was now throbbing in pain. Yoosung, Zen, and Jaehee all stood crowded around the foot of the bed, Yoosung holding flowers. They all looked like they walked in on something they didn't want to see. 

"We were just asleep," MC yawned. "Is it the morning? Can I go home now?"

If she was embarrassed at being found asleep in Seven's arms on a twin bed-sized hospital bed, she didn't show it, the only thing betraying her a slight blush on her cheeks.

"Hi, MC," Zen said. "Are we interrupting something...?"

"No, we were asleep, like she said," Seven replied annoyedly, stating it like the obvious fact it was. Jaehee still looked mortified, so he climbed out of the bed, smoothing out his rumpled suit (he still hadn't changed from the mission) and grinning to the three RFA members, his glasses hanging on his nose lopsidedly.

"You're a mess," Yoosung stated. Zen nodded.

"Give them a break," Jaehee said, shaking her head and ridding herself of her shocked expression. "They..."

She caught Zen's eyes and stopped herself. "They have had a long 48 hours."

"Thanks for coming, guys," MC said, sitting up in her bed and smiling warmly to the three of them. "Yoosung, those flowers are so beautiful! I'll be sure to take them with me when I'm discharged. You shouldn't have."

Yoosung blushed, mumbling something incomprehensible and setting the flowers down. They were roses-- MC's favorite. Seven was sure Zen had told him. 

"MC, if you are about to be released, perhaps we can postpone this... rendezvous?" Jaehee said curtly, checking her phone. "I must leave to take care of something Mr. Han-related, and I fear what would happen to the two of them should I not be around to supervise..."

"I'm a grown man, Jaehee," Zen said. "I can take care of Yoosung. It's fine."

Seven snickered to himself as Yoosung (all 5 foot 4 of him) fumed. "I'm a grown man too!"

"Sure, sweetie," Zen said, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "How about we take MC out to lunch? We can take Seven's car."

"First of all, how do you know my car is here? And second, we need to wait for her to be discharged," Seven piped up as Jaehee gave a quick nod-bow sort of thing, ducking outside the room. MC stared after her, not listening as Yoosung bickered with Zen some more.

Things were awkward between the two following the Jumin situation, but Seven had never seen it with his own two eyes before. It was... something.

Immediately after Jaehee's departure, the chatty doctor from before entered, clipboard and pen in hand. "Miss MC, mister Luciel, assorted guests... good morning."

"Could I leave now, sir?" MC asked sweetly, smiling at him from her seat in the hospital bed. Her smile and tone were captivating, and Seven wondered how anyone would ever be able to say no. She could ask him to rob a bank for her like that and he would do it in a heartbeat.

"Yes, ma'am!" The chatty doctor said, holding out a pamphlet of papers. "This is the extensive plan we've prepared for you. Please make sure your caretaker is aware and ready to help you as much as possible."

"I am, but do you have to call me a caretaker?" Seven grumbled, taking the pamphlet and tucking it into his suit pocket. "Do you have a change of clothes for her?"

MC nodded. "We want to go to lunch and I would really rather not wear this."

Zen and Yoosung had stopped bickering. "Wait, MC's going home with Seven?" Yoosung questioned, looking confused. Zen shushed him.

"Yes... that woman who just left left her a care package from Mr. Han. It has clothes, a brush, perfume..." the doctor trailed off, ducking his head and smiling to MC. "I'll have a nurse come and disconnect you, as well as teach you how to use your crutches. Just sit tight for now. It's been a pleasure working with you!" He hurried out of the room, practically running.

"He was weird," Zen commented, plopping down on the couch with Yoosung. "And why do we have to wait longer? I thought once he said we were good, we were good."

MC held up her wrist, where an IV was still connected. "Unless we take this with me, I can't leave. And I'd really not want to do that."

"And she still can't walk," Seven added. "We need some crutches, unless one of us carries her everywhere. But she's had enough of that."

Yoosung's mouth opened like he was about to exclaim something shocked and loud, but Zen elbowed him in the side. "Just don't question it."

Finally, a nice looking nurse appeared with two short crutches and a paper bag that sounded like it was filled with pills. Zen flirted with her while she helped MC out of the bed and pointed her towards a bathroom where she could change, where Jumin's care package was waiting.

The three boys sat awkwardly in the hospital room while MC got ready, Zen still drooling over the nurse and Yoosung trying to coax more details of the rescue out of Seven. He didn't budge.

Finally, she limped in, her hair brushed again and plaited into a long braid that went to her waist. She wore a beige sweater and a pair of black leggings, an outfit Seven knew she liked and wore often because of how comfortable it was. It drew out her amber eyes and made her look happy, glowing, even-- like she wasn't just tied to a chair in the dingey basement of a corporate monster.

"Okay," she said weakly, smiling at Seven. "Are we going, then?"

"There's this place a few blocks away I want to check out," Zen said, coolly, coming over and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Do you like Italian food?"

"I like all food," MC responded happily, shrugging off his hand and turning on her crutches. "After you, then."

"How long are you on those for?" Yoosung asked, following her into the hallway. "I was on crutches once as a kid. I tripped and fell down the stairs."

"That's sad," Seven replied, walking slowly next to MC so she didn't feel left behind. "I've never broken anything before."

"I'm on these for however long I need to be," MC frowned. "They said it could be as short as two weeks or as long as three months. Depends how fast it heals."

"Just remember to ice it and take anti inflammatory pills as much as possible," Zen offered from multiple steps ahead all of them. "At least, that's what my trainer tells me to do. I wouldn't know."

"Have you broken anything else, MC?" Yoosung asked, cutting Zen off before he could go on more about how fast he healed and what not. Seven gave him a knowing smile in thanks.

"Nope," she replied. The four got into the elevator, an odd silence falling on all of them. 

"MC, are you really staying with Seven?" Yoosung blurted out then. Zen shot him an angry glance, but MC just laughed a little to herself. 

"I am. He's a great host! After the whole Jumin thing from before I stayed with him, and it's just a few streets away from my apartment." She gave the blonde and the actor a warm smile. "There's nothing to worry about. I trust Seven."

"Right... but you should know, MC, that men are bad..." Zen trailed off. The group prepared themself for a long lecture that Zen loved to give, the one about how all men were wolves who couldn't control themselves. 

But it never came. Zen instead just sighed. "But I trust you and your judgement. I know Seven won't hurt you. Have fun."

Yoosung looked like he had been betrayed. "Zen! You aren't supposed to approve of this!" He protested, tugging on the sleeve of Zen's jacket like a toddler. Zen just shrugged.

"It's not a big deal, really," he told the student. "Why, do you think something is wrong with her staying with her friend?"

MC watched the two, amused. Seven could tell by the look in her eyes that she was slightly enjoying seeing the two argue. "Nothing, I guess," Yoosung conceded. "I don't know."

The elevator dinged. MC got out first, careful to not hit anyone with her crutches. "And plus, there's nowhere safer in the world than my house. I can make sure that nobody hurts her."

"But what about after? Is she just going to stay with you forever?" Yoosung asked. "She'll have to go back to her own, unsecured apartment eventually."

Seven didn't respond, only followed her and Zen out of the hospital. Yoosung didn't have to know what he was thinking.

Not right now, at least.

\---

An hour later, the group was sitting down at quite possibly the fanciest resturaunt Seven had ever been to. Not like that was saying much, but he still felt very uncomfortable. Glancing over to MC-- her crutches leaned against the table awkwardly-- he could tell she felt the same way.

"Zen, are you sure this is the right place?" Seven hissed after the waiter took their orders, his lip curling at their casual (except for Seven's rumpled suit) clothing. "This seems a bit much for a lunch place."

"I didn't think it would be like this!" He responded. "I just heard the food and service was good. I didn't know it had a Michelin star!"

"I don't care, so long as I don't have to pay," Yoosung grumbled as he looked at the menu. "I wish Jumin were here."

An awkward pause followed, MC looking down at her empty plate nervously and Zen shooting her a sympathetic look. "I don't," Seven said. "I can pay. It's fine."

"Oh, he wears a suit and suddenly he thinks he's the next Mr. Han," MC joked from beside him. 

"Isn't Seven actually rich?" Zen asked, eyes suddenly wide. "I mean, with that crazy agency job, all those cars..."

Seven silenced him with an angry glance. "Let's not talk about my job in public, huh?"

Soon, everyone had gotten their food and was too busy eating it to talk. Much to Seven's relief, they had kept it relatively cheap-- no filet mignons or lobster tails. MC looked tired, so Seven finally put his napkin over the plate and signaled to the waiter to bring the check. "I think we ought to get going," he said. "Can you two find a taxi or something home or should I drive?"

The drive over to the hospital had been interesting, with Seven and Zen (the two tallest) in the front seat and Yoosung and MC squeezed into the back. Despite Seven's protests that his car was a sports car, not a passenger car, and therefore was not made for any more than two people, Yoosung did nothing but complain. MC didn't say a word the whole time.

"I think we can find a taxi," Zen answered for the both of them, Yoosung nodding in agreement. "Have fun. Don't do anything stupid."

MC rolled her eyes. "We won't."

"Everything I do is stupid," Seven joked as the check was brought out. He quickly paid-- in cash, of course-- and helped MC out of her chair, letting her lean on him as he grabbed her crutches. 

"I'll see you soon!" Yoosung said, gathering her into an awkward, yet gentle, hug. Zen wrapped his arms around her as soon as Yoosung was done, giving her a quick kiss on the top of her head.

"I'm so sorry this happened to you. Be nice to Seven," he whispered, loud enough so that Seven could hear (although he was sure he wasn't supposed to). 

Seven knew that Zen was just being Zen and showing way too much affection for a platonic relationship, but the little kiss bothered him. MC didn't seem too shaken by it-- a slight pink came to her cheeks-- but his stomach still turned. "Alright, let's go," he said, forcing Zen to take a step back as MC limped away. 

"You look good in a suit, you know," she commented as they made their way out of the restaurant, Seven giving a nod to the hostess and holding the door open for MC.

"Thanks," he said awkwardly, not used to getting compliments, much less on what he wore. "I'll be throwing this away as soon as I get home, though."

"Why?" MC asked as they slowly made their way down the street, Seven keeping his eyes wide open for any suspicious looking characters who would try to steal her away. In broad daylight, it was doubtful, but it had happened before... he couldn't be too careful.

"Because it's now associated with the events of last night," he replied. "I don't want to look at it in 3 years and suddenly remember everything. I'll just get a new suit."

"Is that the same one you wore to the party a few months ago?" They turned into the parking garage where Seven had parked his car. He shrugged.

"No. I don't think I wore a suit, did I?" His memories of the party were a little hazy-- all he remembered was the engagement. 

"I don't really remember, I was just wondering," she shrugged. "I liked the party. The next one we have I hope to be even better."

Seven could recall in great detail still how she looked when Jumin proposed to her. She was dressed in this weird blue gown he was sure was designer something or other, her hair braided into this kind-of odd style. But she looked beautiful. The way her eyes lit up when he got down on one knee he felt like he would remember forever... behind her bangs (which were very long, then, she had let them grow out now and usually tucked them behind her ear) they shined, filled with emotion and looking just positively overjoyed. 

And then he cheated on her and put her life in danger. 

Would her eyes ever shine like that again?

"Seven?" MC asked. They had made it to his car, and he was just standing there, thinking. "Could you help me with the door? It looks like you're thinking about something, but I can't open it with these crutches..."

"Oh, sure, sure," he said, coming around to the passenger door and holding it open for her, taking her crutches and setting them down in the trunk. 

"What were you thinking about?" She asked, turning to look at him as he started the car and began to drive out. 

"The last party." He shook his head. "I don't remember much except for Jumin proposing to you."

"Me neither," she agreed. "The poor guests. They wanted a party and they came to a Jumin Han publicity stunt."

"We still raised a bunch of money. It wasn't a complete failure." Seven shrugged. "V came and sold his photos. I think it was great."

"Thanks," MC said. "I worked really hard on it. I still can't believe I managed to pull it off, truthfully..."

Seven passed a car identical to the one that had kidnapped MC the day before, carefully examining the license plate and driver to make sure it wasn't Song. It was just a wealthy looking old lady.

"None of us could, either." It was true, when MC had joined nobody in the RFA believed that this complete stranger would ever be able to plan a party as grand as the ones they had before. She was too quiet, too cute, too... strange to them. Especially when Jumin started to get involved with her, they all assumed she would be too distracted. But she had done amazingly.

"I'm going to go to sleep, I think," she mumbled. "Wake me up when we get there."

"Course," Seven said. Within minutes, her breathing was slowed, and she sat there in the passenger seat snoring ever so quietly. 

Seven turned the radio up and drove on.

\---

"MC, we're here," he announced about an hour later, thankful to be back in his home. She woke up and yawned. 

"I've never been in the garage before," she commented as she looked around, opening up her door and dangling her legs out the side while Seven fetched her crutches. They were surrounded by Seven's cars, each one brightly colored and expensive looking. "Which car is your favorite?"

"You actually have, you were just asleep and stuff," he said first, referring to when he had gotten her from Rika's apartment. "Maybe sleeping wasn't the right word. Knocked out cold, maybe?"

"Okay, fine. I don't remember ever being in the garage before." Seven handed her the crutches and helped her to her feet, pointing to the exit and locking his car. Only Vanderwood could come in here, but he could never be too sure. 

"It's a nice place. Sometimes when it's not too cold I come and work in here." By that, he meant he was hiding from Vanderwood. "And as far as my favorite... I don't know. It's like picking a favorite child. I could never."

"Which is fastest?" MC asked, eyes wide in fascination as they walked to his front entrance. Seven rattled off some words in Arabic and the door opened. 

"The one I took just now. I guess if I had to pick it would be my favorite, but don't tell the other ones." He grinned, walking in front of her into his house. He kicked off his uncomfortable dress shoes and stepped down the stairs to the living room. "Want to watch something?"

He turned to see MC trying to make her way down the stairs on her crutches, eyes narrowed in focus. "No, wait, let me help," he said suddenly from the base of the stairs. It was too late, however-- her foot slipped, her hands dropped her crutches all in the blink of an eye. 

Seven caught her as she fell forward, landing on the living room carpet with an 'oof.'

"Are you okay?" He asked, looking up at her. She was laying on top of him, a pained expression on her face. She had probably landed hard on her ribs, which were already broken. 

"I'm fine, thanks for catching me," she said weakly. "I can't exactly get up, though."

She lifted her head a little bit so that it was directly above his. He had an excellent look of her face, then-- her amber eyes were shining, her cheeks the tiniest bit pink. Why was she blushing?

Seven realized then that he was blushing, too. There was a pretty girl pinned on top of him who had no way of getting up. 

"Oh, uh. Here. Turn over." He gently flipped them so that he was now laying on top of her, hands on either side of her head. Her expression was unreadable. 

His plan was to flip around so he could get up and then help her, but now, her face only inches from his, he had forgotten all of it. All he could think about now was her and how beautiful she was, how he could kiss her right now. It would be so easy. 

She just stared back up at him. "Se-Saeyoung?" She breathed eventually. "What are you doing?"

"You used my real name," he murmured, his heart speeding up. Nobody had done that since... not since he still lived with Saeran. 

"I did," she said. She reached out and tucked a stray piece of hair behind his ear. "What are you doing?" She asked again. 

"I don't know," was what he responded. "I'm thinking."

"What are you thinking about?"

"You." Her blush deepened to the color of his hair. 

"What about me?"

"About... you. And how beautiful you are." What was he saying? He couldn't tell her that. He couldn't say that to her. She couldn't know how he felt.

MC smiled weakly. "T-thank you."

"Can I..." his eyes trailed to her lips, but he shook his head. "Never mind. Never mind what I said. Never mind all of this--"

He was interrupted by MC sitting up and taking his face in her hands, pressing her lips into his gently. "MC..." he mumbled into her mouth, finding himself kissing back anyways. "MC... what are you...?"

"Shh," she said, pulling him down to where she was no longer sitting up awkwardly, but laying down on the floor once more. Her legs tangled around with his, her hands letting go of his face and going to his shirt, pulling him even closer. 

Her lips were so soft. It was Seven's--Saeyoung's-- first kiss, and it was awkward, sloppy, even... but it was perfect. She was perfect. 

She finally pulled away from him, looking up at him instead and smiling weakly. She was breathing a bit heavier than before, as was Seven...

None of them said anything. They just stared at eachotther like they hadn't before, hearts racing and pressed into eachother on the living room floor. 

Seven finally reached down and kissed her again, softly and gently. Their first kiss was urgent-- it was to prove something, to prove that there was something. It was a question. Was he okay with this? Was she?

The second one was slower, more intimate and careful. He wanted to touch her, wrap his arms around her and tangle his fingers in her hair, but they stayed rooted to the floor-- he couldn't collapse on top of her. That would crush her ribs and ruin everything. So they stayed like that, MC's hands now playing with his hair and his on either side of her face. 

When that one came to an end, he finally pulled off of her and helped her to her feet. They remained silent as he hunted for her crutches.

"I... I've wanted to do that for awhile," Seven finally admitted when she had hobbled over and plopped down on the couch. He kept his distance, rooted to the floor across the room. 

"Me too," she said.

"D-do you feel okay? I mean, after that fall..."

"I've never felt better." She grinned at him weakly.

Seven paced over awkwardly and sat down next to her. "I've never... kissed anyone before," he admitted quietly. 

"I've only kissed Jumin," she replied, leaning her head on his shoulder. "He's not very good."

"I'm sure I'm not much better." Seven leaned his head on top of hers. 

"We can practice as much as you want," she whispered. "Jumin didn't-"

"Don't talk about Jumin," Seven suddenly said harshly. Worried he had ruined the moment, he turned and looked at her, concerned. "I mean... sorry. When I think of him I just get really mad."

"Oh, I see," she said. If she looked upset she didn't show it. "I won't. Who's Jumin?"

"Some loser, I'm sure-"

Seven's phone began to ring then. He pulled out his phone.

It was Jumin.

"Some loser who's calling me with details about the... events of last night, I'm sure," Seven muttered. "Here. I'll put him on speaker."

"Do you have to answer?" 

Seven nodded glumly, clicking answer. "Jumin."

"Luciel."

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Seven asked dryly. 

"I just thought you would like to know that Song was arrested for kidnapping and abuse as well as multiple other charges. A full investigation is being launched into him, but right now it looks like Vera is going out of business soon and all involved-- that is, all the guards who helped guard her, etcetera, will be arrested. 

"That's good to hear," Seven replied. "Thank you."

"Is MC near you?" Seven turned to look at her, and she shook her head. 

'Tell him no,' she mouthed. Seven nodded knowingly in response.

"No."

"How is she doing? Is she upset with me?" MC shook her head.

"I don't think she is."

"Okay, good. Please tell her then that I would like to see her to formally apologize at dinner tonight at this new resturaunt, I hear they have excellent pasta--"

"Is it called 'The Waterway?'" Seven asked, eyebrows furrowed. 

"Why, yes. Have you heard of it?"

"Yes. MC, Zen, Yoosung and I all went there for lunch today." MC giggled to herself. It was kind of funny. 

"Ah... I see. Please tell her then that I would like to take her to dinner, place to be determined..."

"I think she'll pass," Seven said. MC nodded. "It's been a long day for her. I think we are just going to watch a movie and chill."

"I hear that that is a euphemism that the young kids use," Jumin said curtly. "Is this movie on 'Netflix' by any chance?"

MC could hardly contain herself from laughing. Seven just blushed.

"No, no euphemism. We're just going to watch a movie."

"Allow me to make some suggestions then--"

"Nope, cya Jumin!" Seven hung up the phone, laughing along side MC. 

"It's like he's 80 years old!" She chuckled. "Honestly."

"He's so gross. How did you almost marry him?"

"I..." she stopped laughing and trailed off. "Whatever."

"Right. We don't have to talk about it. Want to watch a movie?"

"Sure, but no promise that's not a euphemism," she responded, grabbing the clicker.

\---

Turns out it kind of was.

MC had put on some cheesy movie about a pretty model who lost her job or something and had to work as a retail worker. It was dreadfully boring, so they had started to kiss again, this time far more comfortable as they weren't laying down on the floor anymore. 

He couldn't keep his hands off of her. The movie had continued going, neither one of them paying attention to the plot. Instead, the two had their arms wrapped around each other and lips pressed together. It was the most fun Seven had ever had... he had wanted to kiss her for so long, and now he could for as long as he wanted, as much as he wanted. 

"Saeyoung," she eventually breathed, stopping him and pulling away. They were laying down now, MC on his chest. She was breathing hard, eyes shining.

"Oh my god," he said. She looked worried. 

"What?"

"Your eyes look the same way they did when Jumin proposed to you," he commented. She just blushed and looked away. 

"You were looking at my eyes when he proposed?" She wondered, laying her chin down on his chest and staring at him. She looked adorable. 

"Of course. You looked amazing that day. I couldn't keep my eyes off you." Seven didn't know where all of this was coming from. It was almost embarrassing how much emotion he was sharing.

"Did you want to kiss me then, too?" She asked, amused. Seven didn't answer, only looked away bashfully. 

"You did," she answered for him. "What can I say. I don't blame you. I am quite kissable."

"Oh, really..." He mumbled. "I hadn't noticed."

She just grinned, scooting a little closer and pressing a kiss to his forehead. "You are, too."

They just lay there like that for awhile, Seven eventually reaching up and gently wrapping his arms around her. She soon fell asleep on him.

They were so cliche and repetitive. But at least this time she meant to fall asleep on him. 

\---

"Agent Seven Zero Seven, explain yourself right now," he woke up to. He and MC woke up to a start, his glasses crooked on his nose. 

"W-what?" He mumbled. MC sat up and moved over to where she was no longer on top of him. Seven turned himself around to where he was sitting, rubbing his bleary vision to stare at the figure standing angrily in the living room.

"Oh, hey, Madame," he said casually to the very angry Vanderwood sitting in his living room.

"You're looking nice. Why the suit?" He asked through gritted teeth, his arms crossed. Seven shrugged.

"Long story. Why are you here?"

"Long story. Why was she laying on top of you? And why were your arms wrapped around her like a..." Vanderwood visibly shuddered. "Couple?"

"Uhhh..." Seven looked to MC nervously. "She just got back from the hospital and didn't feel well enough to walk to the bed so she slept on me instead?"

"Your office. Now." Vanderwood pointed down the hallway. 

"I understand, yes m'am," Seven said, springing off the couch and following Vanderwood to his office. Seven plunked down in his chair and grinned awkwardly at the angry agent. 

"Luciel."

"You know that's not my real name."

"Right, but I don't know what it is so Luciel is going to have to do right now," Vanderwood said angrily. "I thought you told me nothing was going on with that girl."

"That was before-"

"You're not even going to deny it?" Vanderwood's nostrils flared in anger. He looked positively ready to burst, like smoke would be coming from his ears any second. 

"No. I'm not." Seven dropped his joking demeanor, turning to Vanderwood seriously. 

"You're not?"

"I want to quit the agency." Vanderwood turned a beautiful shade of red then.

"You WHAT?"

"I want to quit the agency and retire," Seven repeated. "You heard me."

"You know what happens to people who quit the agency. You can't do that. You're the best we have--"

"Which is precisely why you should let me quit." Seven gave Vanderwood a knowing smile.

"What do you mean?" Vanderwood's upper lip curled up, something Seven had only ever seen in movies. People actually did that when they were mad?

"I mean... I've already broken a rule in establishing a relationship with MC," he started. Vanderwood nodded. "So I'm already in trouble and a risk to them. Either they let me leave in peace and leave me be for the rest of my life, or, I use my knowledge, hack into their database, and ruin them. We both know I'm capable of it."

Vanderwood's stony silence gave Seven all the information he needed. He knew he was right. "So what's it going to be?"

"Are you threatening the organization?" Vanderwood asked quietly. Seven nodded.

"You must really care about this girl, then, if you want to quit the entire agency." 

"I do."

"And if they don't release you, you'll ruin the entire worldwide agency?"

"I will."

It would be difficult. There was no denying the security was airtight-- Seven had coded it himself. The biggest hacking organization in the world would not be easily ruined by one hacker, but Seven knew he could do it. He would have to to protect him and MC. 

"I'll... speak to them," Vanderwood muttered. "I can't believe you're doing this, though. Seriously. You're throwing away a great opportunity."

"I'm throwing away a great opportunity to live my life out as a regular person with a regular life. Please, Vanderwood, certainly there's a tiny part of you that understands?" Seven asked. "I can get you out, too. You're the only person who will clean this disgusting house."

"Now you have that girl. God. What do you see in her?" Vanderwood sputtered. "I thought she was married to that Han boy. The one with the company."

"The one with the company," Seven repeated, amused. "No. He cheated on her. Do you not remember her staying with me the first time?"

"Oh, right. I guess I blocked it out because I was so shocked a girl was staying with you," Vanderwood muttered. "Still doesn't answer my question. What do you see in her? Is she a hacker, too? Or just a dumb party coordinator?"

"Seems like you already know the answer, although she's anything but dumb," Seven responded. "Now, please leave my house if you plan on insulting my guest."

"Rather serious today, aren't we?"

"Very. I mean, quite." Seven smiled at the agent. "I'm not kidding. Go away and tell them."

"Them?" Vanderwood asked dumbly.

"The agency," Seven responded. What else would he be referring to?

"Fine. I will call you with results later, but don't get your hopes up," Vanderwood said darkly, turning out of Seven's office. Suddenly, there was a yell.

"What are you doing?" He exclaimed angrily in the hallway. Seven quickly rose out of his chair and stepped outside, seeing a bristling Vanderwood cornering MC against the wall. "Were you listening to our conversation?"

"No, I was going to the kitchen," MC responded meekly, pointing to the kitchen door down the hallway. "To g-get some water."

"Back off," Seven said, pushing Vanderwood out of the way so MC could get by. She gave him a grateful glance and hobbled down the hallway on her crutches, wanting to get past the angry agent as fast as she could. 

"She was eavesdropping. Even if you quit the agency, she will still know sensitive information!" Vanderwood spat. "We have to take care of her."

"If you so much as think about laying a finger on her, I will kill both you and the agency," Seven said calmly. "Now, for the last time, please get out of my house before I escort you out myself."

Vanderwood pressed his lips together, frustrated. "Fine."

He turned and left, storming through the living room and up the stairs to the front door. When Seven heard the click of the metal door, he bee-lined to the kitchen to see MC sitting on the counter, a glass of lemonade in her hand. 

"I didn't know you liked lemonade," Seven commented. MC shrugged.

"I'm sorry if he scared you. He's... odd. And, just so we're clear, I don't care if you were listening," he said quickly, pacing over to where she was sitting and placing a hand on her forearm gently. "There's nothing that I said that I don't want you to know. No more secrets."

"No more secrets," she repeated. "I was listening. I just wanted to hear what he was so mad about... Seven--Saeyoung-- are you really going to quit your hacking job?"

Seven felt his heart race every time she said his name. His grip on her forearm tightened. "Ah... Yes. I've been meaning to for awhile."

"Why?" She asked. Her amber eyes bore into his golden ones, swimming with questions. 

"Because... a lot of reasons," he said, a slight blush coming to his cheeks. There was really only one. He let go of her forearm, scratching the back of his neck nervously. 

"Like..."

"Like you," he blurted out. "I mean... even when you were still with Jumin, and we were friends, that wasn't allowed. I'd never had a friend like you, and I got nervous, so I started planning... And then things escalated."

"Do you like working for them?" MC pressed gently. 

"No. They overwork me and treat me horribly because they know I wouldn't ever try to leave. But now... I didn't want to threaten them, but I had to. They'd never let me quit otherwise." Seven shrugged. "Hacking is what I'm best at, and I don't intend to quit it. I just can't keep working for such a gross and pathetic agency when I have so much other stuff going on."

"Other stuff?"

"You, again," he said bashfully. "And all my work for the RFA, and then there is just so much I want to do. I want to learn how to live a normal life. I've never had that."

"Saeyoung," MC said, reaching out and brushing a few strands of hair out of his face endearingly. "With all due respect, I don't think you're ever capable of being normal. But that's what I like about you."

"You're right. But it's worth a try. And..." He trailed off. "Nevermind."

"What?"

"With you next to me, anything's possible."

"Awww... who knew you were so cheesy?" She joked. "Not that I have a problem with it... it's so sweet."

"I've just never liked someone as much as you," he said bashfully. "I don't really know how to express it, so I'm just saying everything that comes to mind..."

MC blushed, leaning in and kissing him on the lips gently. He leaned into it, accidentally pushing her against the cupboards behind her. "Seven, I can't breathe," she mumbled after a few seconds. He pulled away awkwardly.

She just grinned back. 

Seven was so in love. 

\---

"Are you sure you're ready?" He asked a few weeks later, MC pressed against his side. She nodded determinedly, eyes narrowed in confidence. Her crutches lay on the couch to Seven's living room. 

"I can't stand walking with them any longer," she said. "They hurt my arms."

"But if you walk and you're not ready, you'll just hurt your ankle even more," Seven replied. She was standing pressed against him, her hurt foot wrapped in tape and held high in the air as she balanced on the other. 

"Let go of me." The tone in her voice told him that she was not messing around.

MC had been so strong in the weeks following the hostage situation. Her concussion had proven to be very minor-- she was cleared within a week. Her ribs hurt her, but didn't stand in the way, and she had been very good about taking her medication and using ice. Her bruises and cuts healed slowly, some of them looking like they would leave scars. But it was okay. Seven didn't care about scars.

The only thing left to conquer was her ankle. It had proved to be a pretty bad sprain, taking much longer to heal than usual. Most healed in one to two weeks, but it had been four, and putting pressure on it made her cry out in pain as of a week ago. Now, she had stayed off it for a week and iced it religiously. Ready to ditch the crutches, it was time for her to take her first steps alone. 

Seven let go of her, careful to catch her if she fell. She balanced on her foot gingerly, then slowly moved to stand on both of them. It rested against the floor first with no weight on it, then, she shifted...

Seven braced himself for her to cry out, but there was nothing. She turned to look at him, standing flat and balanced on her two feet, grinning widely. "Look!"

He gave her a thumbs up, still spotting her. "Any pain?"

She shook her head, taking a step. And then another-- and another, and even more until she had made it across the room.

"I did it!" MC exclaimed, almost jumping for joy, but containing herself. No jumping yet. 

"You did," Seven said, coming over and hugging her. He lifted her up off the ground-- part of him still worried she was hurting and not saying anything-- and spun her around. "What now? Are we all healed?"

Seven knew the answer. Part of the treatment she had been assigned was for her to meet biweekly with a therapist, who had told Seven (as her caretaker) that it would take a long time for her to fully recover from what had happened. "Even though it was only a night's worth, the events that occurred leading up to it-- her Fiance cheating on her, the amount of shock that followed that, her moving into a new apartment in a strange environment-- they don't help at all," her therapist had said after one session. "I would imagine it'll take months, years, if even ever, to heal completely."

What he had said had proven true. Seven and MC-- although their relationship status continued to remain ambiguous and hidden to the rest of the members-- had continued their rather physical relationship in the last few weeks as well. The two couldn't keep their hands off each other, no matter what they were doing. Watching TV, eating breakfast, sleeping-- they were constantly just touching. Seven loved the feeling of her hair between his fingers, her body in his arms. Of his lips against hers, or against her cheek, or her hand, or her forehead. He had never felt so attracted to someone before and certainly had never had such a feeling reciprocated. 

As much as their relationship had been progressing, and as happy had Seven had been-- he felt like he was floating high on a cloud, away from all the filth his job had given him-- there was still a part of MC that was injured. Not a body part, not a bone, but in her head. 

Seven's favorite part of the day was night time, more specifically night time when he didn't have work to finish up. He would climb into bed with her and fall asleep with his arms wrapped around her, where they would just lay there, together, finally. 

Until she woke up in a cold sweat, tears coming from her eyes. 

"I used to get nightmares before," she admitted to him one of those nights. They were sitting together, upright, against the bedframe. Seven had his arm wrapped tightly around her shaking body, desperately trying to comfort her. "I used to get them before, but never like this. Now they are so... vivid."

Seven remembered that night before, when she stayed with him after Jumin first hurt her. How she had woken up and asked him to stay with her. He was so happy he could finally sleep with her, be there for her, but it pained him so much to see her like that. Every time a car drove slowly outside the house, every time there was an unexplainable noise or shadow, she jumped. 

He tried to console her, having come from a similar situation himself. That what she was feeling was normal, valid, etc... none of it seemed to make any difference. She still had nightmares and looked to him with panic in her eyes. 

But the two of them vowed to get through it. MC was there for Seven, listening to him whenever he felt the desire to vent about his past life, about his difficulty leaving the agency-- they agreed to his demands, but postponed it for a month so they could "make preparations"-- she listened. And he listened to her. 

So, in all, he knew asking if she was "all healed" was futile. Because she probably never would be.

But so long as he was by her side, it didn't matter. 

\---

707 has entered the chatroom.

MC has entered the chatroom.

ZEN has entered the chatroom.

Jumin Han has entered the chatroom.

Yoosung ★ has entered the chatroom.

Jaehee Kang has entered the chatroom.

707: Wow, everyone's here O.o

Jumin Han: Yes, I came to discuss the party. Is it still on for a week from today?

MC: Yes. All preparations are in order for now, all we are missing is some more guests. 

ZEN: I'm so excited!!! I haven't seen you all in forever lmao

ZEN: Especially you, MC~~

Yoosung★: I'm excited too!!! This party will be amazing~

MC: I hope so ^^

707: MC's been working rly hard. If it isn't amazing I'd be shocked.

707: Forget amazing.... it will be.....

707: Better than amazing!!!!

Jaehee Kang: What an excellent vocabulary.

Jumin Han: My question has been answered. Good evening, everyone.

Jumin Han has left the chatroom.

ZEN: That guy.....

Yoosung★: All he does is join the chatroom when he needs something >.<

Jaehee Kang: Now he is calling me to his office from down the hallway....

Jaehee Kang: I have to leave now as well.

Jaehee Kang: Bye, all!

ZEN: Bye, Jaehee!

Jaehee Kang has left the chatroom.

Yoosung★: MC, can you walk on your own yet?

MC: Yep! Took my first steps in a long time tonight!! I'll be back to my old self at the party, don't you worry!

ZEN: Man, I wish I could donate my super speed healing to you T_T 

ZEN: Did that cut on your face leave a scar?

MC: It's still healing, but it'll be okay. It's super easy to cover with makeup. 

707: I don't think it'll leave a scar.

707: But even if it does, MC will still look cute. 

Yoosung★: Awww Seven 

Yoosung★: You like MC~~~

707: I think everyone in this organization likes MC. She's the party planner.

MC: Ya. Yoosung, are you saying you don't like me? T_T

Yoosung★: You know that's not what I meant T_T

ZEN: You can't just call someone cute and act like u didn't mean anything else behind it!!!!!

MC: Zen, ur cute. 

MC: Yoosung, ur cute.

Yoosung★: I'm blushing...

707: Ya. Yoosung, u are cute like a little puppy dog. Zen, u are cute like...

707: U know, actually, Zen doesn't need more fuel to his ego.

ZEN: I'm hurt T_T

707: Good. 

707: MC, are u hungry?

MC: Yes ^^

MC: Can we order a pizza? 

707: Of course.

707: Off we go to the magical world of pizza delivery!

707: Agent 707 and Agent 606 over and out!!

707: ~~~~~

707: ~~~~~~

707: ~~~~~~~~~~

707 has left the chatroom.

MC: ⋆⋆☆✶★⋆⋆

MC has left the chatroom.

ZEN: Seven never addressed liking her...

Yoosung★: They are dating.

ZEN: No doubt about it.

Yoosung★: Why do you think they haven't said anything?

ZEN: IDK. Just let them be weird. 

Yoosung★: Now I want pizza T_T

Yoosung★: Im going to go get some. Maybe I can see them!!

Yoosung★: Bye Zen!!!

Yoosung has left the chatroom. 

ZEN: MC, Seven.....

ZEN: I love u guys. Be safe. 

ZEN: Seven... treat her well. 

ZEN has left the chatroom.

\---

"MC?" Seven asked nervously a few nights after the RFA figured out their secret. The two were sitting together on Seven's couch, eating a celebratory take out dinner. Seven had finally left the agency under a special contract that guaranteed his safety. It had taken many weeks and many extra hours of work, but he was free. 

"Mm?" She said, picking through her bowl of noodles. 

"Have I ever told you..." Seven trailed off, swallowing nervously. "That... that I..."

"That you...?" She repeated, trailing off while he panicked. He set down his box of fried rice, now wringing his hands. "Are you okay?"

"I love you," he said quickly. MC looked at him in surprise.

"I love you too," she responded, far more calm than him. "Have we really not said that to each other yet?"

"I read somewhere that it's not good to say it super quickly," he explained. "I mean, not that I was reading how to be a good boyfriend or whatever..."

Not only had he just used the love you phrase, he had used the boyfriend word. According to girl talk magazine, that was a big deal. MC didn't seem to care, though.

"You don't need to read tutorials to be a good boyfriend," she said, like it was stupid he even thought so. "You're perfect just the way you are. I love you, Saeyoung."

"I love you, MC."

\---

The day of the second RFA party with MC as coordinator finally came.

She had been working tirelessly to secure the venue, the food, the guest list, the seating, the press, everything. Seven loved to watch her work and talk to the guests, loved to look at her neat little planning notebooks when she wasn't looking. 

She was nervous. It would be a big crowd filled with reporters who undoubtedly would have millions of questions about Jumin, about the kidnapping, about what happened. About where she was living, how she was doing. If anything, she wanted to pull a V and not attend what she had worked so hard to curate. 

"Do you think they'll know I've practically moved in with you?" She asked him the night before, the two cuddling on the couch. Seven hated the word before, but now, just the thought of it made him feel all giddy. 

"I think so. Speaking of which, want to make it official?" He asked.

"If you plan on proposing to me tomorrow, please don't," MC responded. Seven turned to look at her in shock. "Not that I don't want to marry you. I just... I don't know. I don't want to be anyone's fiancee right now."

"I wasn't going to propose to you," he said slowly. "I know it's way too soon for that. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love you unconditionally, but... that would just be inconsiderate of me." He shook his head. "Anyways, I meant about moving in. We already moved all the stuff from your apartment that you needed and at this point-"

"Yes," MC said, kissing him on the nose and interrupting him. "I'd love to move in with you."

"Great." 

"Perfect."

"Do you have your outfit for the party?" He asked. "I just realized I never bothered to take you shopping or any of that..."

"Yes. I have a nice red dress," she replied. Seven furrowed his brows. 

"I'm wearing a red tie," he said. "Will we look like a prom couple?"

"Maybe."

"Do you care?"

"No," she responded, snuggling closer to him. "Maybe that will be our way of officially announcing it. No big proposal scheme to the press."

"Sounds perfect."

\---

And it was. 

"Are you two matching?" Zen asked the next day.

"Of course we are," Seven responded casually. MC's dress was beautiful and matched his tie perfectly, unplanned as it was. The two had walked in together arm in arm. He almost felt like he should have gotten her a corsage.

"Are you two... together?" Yoosung asked, coming up behind them. 

"Of course we are."

And that was that. 

Jumin gave them an approving sort of glance. Jaehee didn't really care. V, who showed up despite not saying anything prior, gave Seven a firm clap on the back and told him to stay faithful, a snide jab at Jumin that Seven readily accepted. 

The press that Jumin always invited did in fact bombard MC with questions, each of which she answered delicately. "Are you in a relationship with another member of the RFA so soon after breaking up with your Fiance?" One of them asked. 

"Yes," she said. "Do you have a problem?"

"No," the reporter replied, looking scared as Seven came up and hugged MC from behind while she answered the rest of the questions. 

By the end of the party, everyone knew, and everyone approved. There was no denying they were a perfect match-- Seven made her laugh, and MC made him feel happy, something that was a rarity in his life before. They didn't even try to hide how much they loved eachother-- nor really could they-- it was plain for everyone to see. In their eyes, in their smiles, in their hands, tangled together at all times. 

The party went perfectly, because of course it did. MC had planned it.

It felt too good to be true, because for Seven, it was. He had never felt true happiness before, or so it felt. Because nothing compared to the happiness he felt when he was with MC. The way she looked at him like he was the only one in the room, how he felt like she understood every word he was saying. How when he felt her touch, felt her in his arms, he knew nobody else would ever make him feel like that. She was his endgame, his future, his life. 

She was perfect.

Everything was perfect.


End file.
